


Melemele ke Ola

by SBF1 (SkyBlueFox)



Category: Furry (Fandom), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: (NSFW is all anthro), (porn:plot ratio is about 30:70), Action/Adventure, Anthro, Anthropomorphic, Arora-chichou | Alola, Character Development, Don't Have to Know Canon, Foreplay, Furry, Gen, Multi, NSFW, Nudism, Nudity, POV First Person, POV Pokemon, Porn With Plot, Romance, Sex, Talking Pokemon, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:28:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 68,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22331110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyBlueFox/pseuds/SBF1
Summary: After recently moving to Alola, a group of Pokemon choose to take the island challenge, and so they set out to explore the region they call home, learning its history, seeing its sights, and immersing themselves in its culture. In the process, they'll make friends, stumble onto enemies... and find themselves involved in a deeper mystery brewing beneath the surface of paradise.-----The first story (ideally of four) in a re-imagining of Pokemon Sun and Moon, taking place in a universe where anthropomorphic Pokemon coexist with their wild counterparts, and where sexuality and sexual freedom is far more open. While the story is partially (and blatantly) a vehicle for horny furry stuff, it also intends to expand on the Alola shown in the games by drawing inspiration from real areas on the islands, creating a region that is larger, deeper, and generally more interesting than the one we got.(Crossposted and slightly-updated from my FurAffinity account)
Relationships: Daikenki | Samurott/Kojondo | Mienshao, Kyukon | Ninetales/Lucario (Pokemon)
Kudos: 2





	1. A Meeting with Kukui!

My muscles tensed up as a faint rattling drifted through the air, my ears flicking and tail twitching as the sound rousted me from my slumber, and I stirred, wearily blinking my eyes open when I realized I wasn't going to get back to sleep. Sunlight flooded into my vision, making me wince, and I rolled onto my side, a heavy sensation falling over me as I stared at the opposite wall. As the apartment became less and less fuzzy, I felt someone's fingertips snake their way through my torsofur, and a shiver went down my spine when they scritched at my abs, trying to help wake me up.

"Bill?" A soft, accented voice spoke up, and the corners of my mouth curled upwards into a smile as I looked down at the cream-furred fox laying next to me, her ruby red eyes sparkling happily. The Ninetales scooted in close, and I wrapped her into a hug, a slight pang of arousal running through my sheath when her ample breasts squished around my blunted chestspike. "Mm... good morning."

"Haaaww... g'morning, Rose," I replied through a yawn, tracing my palms down her fit, curvy figure and pulling the sheets off of us along the way, my tail thumping against the mattress as the air conditioning swept over our naked bodies. My partner hummed at my touch, curling her legs until our thighs brushed together, and I raised my head a bit to nuzzle her forehead, the rattling noise fading from my mind. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good, hehe," Rose chuckled under her breath, shaking her head a couple times when a few locks of her headfur fell in front of her face, and I brought an arm back up to brush at her ponytail, light glinting off of my pawspike. She blushed for a moment, then peered over my shoulder at the window-wall, idly running her footpaws up and down my calves. "We really slept in today, didn't we?"

"Another great day in Hau'oli City," I quipped back with a grin, moving my hands back down and giving her rump a quick squeeze. The Ninetales laughed again, this time louder, and puffed out her chest in response, her nipples poking through my fur. Her inner fire flared up, and a pleasant warmth washed over me like a hot bath, sending a surge through my nerves. "Besides, until City Hall gives us the okay for the island challenge, we've got all the time in the world."

"Now that New Years Day is done, hopefully they'll get back to us soon..." She trailed off, pushing further and further against me until I flopped onto my back, snaking her hands under my shoulders and leaning in close, a purr rumbling in the back of her throat as she lay on top of me, her creamy fur shining brilliantly. Her orange tailtips waved from side to side, and I dropped my head back down onto the pillow, feeling my aura tassels sink into the fabric.

After a short, sleepy silence, Rose craned her neck and pressed her lips against mine, pulling me into a tender, slightly wet kiss; my eyes fluttered shut almost instantly, and I drew my hands up the small of her back, her ponytail tickling at my wrists. I gladly kissed her back, tilting my head and letting go of a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Not long after, I opened my mouth and lapped at the cream-furred fox's muzzle, and she did the same, letting out a gentle moan when our tongues touched together.

We made out for a while, breathing heavily as we half-kissed, half-licked each other, occasionally interrupted by a groan from myself or a sigh or coo from my partner. I bent my legs, digging my heels into the mattress, my mind getting hazier and hazier, feeling my partner shift and move around on top of me. All the while, I could feel my penis starting to harden within my sheath, and when my tapered tip poked out into the open, I shivered again, splaying my arms out across the bed.

Suddenly, Rose broke the kiss, pulling away to catch her breath, propping herself up on her elbows and gazing lovingly at me. As she sat up a bit, her perky breasts rose up and off of my chest, swinging and bouncing ever-so-slightly against each other, dangling right in front of my face. I took a deep breath, stealing a glance at the Ninetales before reaching out and grabbing her G-cups, feeling the firm mounds give at my touch.

"A-Ah-! O-Oooh..." She inhaled sharply, her fur bristling for a split-second as she tensed up, and then she relaxed, stretching her arms out and moaning softly. The encouraging sound sent a quiver through my hardening cock, and I scooted even closer to bury my face between her boobs, peppering her cleavage with lots of quick kisses and little suckles. "Ohh, Arceus, Bill..."

"Bet you're not sleepy now, huh?" I joked – my voice sounding more than a little muffled – and continued nuzzling and massaging her titties, squeezing them with my fingers and rubbing my cold nose against her nipples, which stiffened almost immediately. Her warm, silky fur brushed against my cheeks as I rubbed my face all over her chest; another moan drifted right into my ears, and not a second later, my knot fully swelled out of my sheath, hard as steel. "Nnf... A-Arceus, Rose, I haven't been this hard in days..."

"H-Hehehe... I think I could feel it sometimes during the night, you know." Rose's giggle quickly turned into another moan when I ran my tip against her pussy, her juices already leaking out and trickling down onto my crotch. Raising her hips, she began to grind against my shaft, pressing her midriff against my abs and trembling in anticipation. "Mmph... Bill, I want you to fill me... please...!"

I needed no further urging, scooting back up the bed until my head was fully out from between her boobs, feeling my torsofur flatten out somewhat as they bounced and jiggled against my chest. After giving both of my partner's mounds one last kiss, I dragged my hands down her sides, stopping when I reached her hips. Leaning sideways to get a better angle, I dug my fingers into her soft fur and held tight, shooting her a lewd grin when she gasped in surprise.

Rose quickly calmed down, though, digging her knees in and laying as still as she could as I tried to line my cock up with her pussy. Slinking her hands up to the pillows, she playfully tugged at my aura tassels, her nine fluffy tails waving around a bit before falling over the side of the bed. The sheets rustled faintly as we moved, and after adjusting my weight, I paused briefly to gaze at the cream-furred fox, giving her a slow, deliberate once-over. My heart skipped a beat at the sight, and my dick throbbed in turn.

Then, without further ado, I thrust into my partner, her slick, pink folds spreading out around my quivering cock. I sucked in a breath, tension and pleasure both rippling through my nerves at the sheer warmth that flooded through me. The Ninetales was hot, wet, cozy and perfect; her pussy gripped at my shaft with all its might, clenching even tighter when my knot bumped her crotch. For a few moments, all I could do was lay there and get used to being inside of her – and if Rose's long, drawn-out sigh was any indication, that was just fine with her too.

After a couple more seconds, she nodded at me to continue, and I leaned back, slowly drawing my dick out, a shaky breath escaping my throat as cool air blew against my juice-coated shaft. I waited until I was halfway out, then pushed back into her, my balls swinging and smacking against her folds from the motion. The fire type Pokemon gasped, then moaned, leaning down to rest her chin on her tits, and I craned my neck forward, affectionately bumping our noses together.

The two of us began to move at a comfortable pace, lewd, sticky noises filling the air as Rose gingerly rolled her hips, trying to move in time with my thrusts. Pleasure surged through my mind, wave after wave, and my cock throbbed within my partner's folds, getting a slow groan out of me in the process. I stared deeply into Rose's face, watching her smile widen each time I hilted her, her sidelocks and ponytail shaking this way and her boobies squishing and jiggling around my blunted chestspike.

We stayed like that for a little while, slowly bumping and grinding our crotches together – jolts of pleasure ran through my sheath each time it swung against the Ninetales' fur – but not long after we had started, I paused, spreading my legs out just a tad. The cream-furred fox seemed to realize what I was doing, and she pressed her hands into the bed, pushing herself up until she was straddling my lap. Curling her fingers into my torsofur, she nodded at me, a deep, cherry-red blush flaring onto her cheeks.

"Ready?" I asked, grinning cheekily as I ran the flats of my pawspikes up and down her legs, pressing the cool metal against her warm, shapely thighs.

Instead of replying, Rose hunched forward, raised her hips almost completely off of me... and then she plunged right back down onto my lap, my knot throbbing when her cute, plump ass slapped against my ballsack. My breath hitched as she began bouncing up and down on my cock, her soft moans drifting past my ears, and I quickly grabbed at her hips again, jerking my hips up and down in time with her humps.

Pleasure pounded through my mind as we picked up speed, and I groaned heavily, struggling to keep my eyes open even as I watched my partner's boobs bounce and squish, her tails and headfur swinging around behind her. My cock quivered and throbbed within her pussy, sliding in and out with ease despite how often she clenched, and a shudder ran down my spine when a gush of her juices flowed out from around my shaft, dripping all over our crotches.

The sounds of our sex echoed around the apartment as we kept humping each other, and before long, I was moving on instinct alone, pressing my footpaws hard into the bed to keep myself steady. A familiar pressure soon began to wind its way through my nerves, getting stronger and stronger with each wave of pleasure that bowled me over, and I gave Rose's hip a hasty pat to let her know I was close. She didn't even seem to notice, tightening her grip on my torsofur and opening her ruby red eyes just a crack.

"B-Bill... I-I'm-" Rose said, her movements becoming more and more uneven the closer to her climax she got, gasping in arousal after each and every bounce. After another moment, she suddenly found her voice again. "Ah- ah- ah... I'm ga-aaaah-!"

A sudden squeal erupted from the Ninetales as she came, a huge rush of juices squirting out of her pussy, shooting through the air and landing all over chest and abs, sinking right into my fur. Her inner fire flaring as she squirted all over me, and I sucked in a breath when her folds clenched like a vicegrip around my dick, milking me for all I was worth. Gritting my teeth, I felt the last of my willpower drain away, my aura tassels hovering off of the pillow and a bright glow shining around my partner's body.

I arched my back, my hips dropping back down onto the bed as the sensations became too much to bear – my knot throbbing in the open air while hot juices swirled around my shaft – and I scrunched my eyes shut, still able to see Rose's aura despite it all. I came hard, vein pulsing as a thick, gooey rope of semen erupted from my tapered tip, launching deep into the fire type Pokemon's pussy. A second and third pumped out in quick succession, and I groaned, my voice sounding distant in my ears.

Seconds turned to minutes as we rode out our orgasms, our fluids mixing together and gushing out all over our crotches; Rose kept rolling her hips forward each time she squirted, half-gasping, half-moaning whenever her clit brushed against my fur. Soon enough, though, things began to slow down, and after a few more seconds of tiny squirts, the cream-furred fox crumpled in a heap on top of me, sliding completely off of my dick along the way. Her boobies smushed right into my chest, helping to break her fall, and my sheath twitched when a final string of cum shot out and landed on her rump.

"Haah... a-ah..." I panted hard, my aura tassels falling back down onto the pillow once I finally finished cumming, and I stared at my partner in a blissful daze, my whole body relaxing as my senses finally came back to me. "Rose... I love you so much..."

"Mmmm... Bill..." Rose purred in ecstasy, happily basking in her afterglow as she cuddled right up to me, her cozy body heat quickly sinking into my torsofur. She cooed under her breath when our legs brushed together, and I reached down, curling my hands over the back of her thighs and squeezing playfully. "I love you too..."

We cuddled together for a few lovely, comfortable minutes, a wave of satisfaction rolling over me as we enjoyed each other's company. My tail wagged from side to side, bumping against our legs, and Rose briefly reached back to mess with her ponytail of headfur, brushing it down the small of her back. I blinked when I felt the air conditioning blow over us again, and I turned my head to look around the apartment, furrowing my brow somewhat when I noticed the clock, and a familiar Pokedex-style case, sitting on the bedside table.

"Well, it's..." I leaned sideways and fumbled for my phone, eventually snatching it up and flipping the case open. I blinked in surprise, then flashed my partner a sly grin, when I turned the screen on and checked the time. "Almost half-past nine. Not too bad for sleeping in and having a morning quickie, huh?"

"Yeah, hehe," Rose giggled as she scooted off of my lap and rolled onto her back, giving me a quick peck as she reached over to the dresser to retrieve her own phone. I smiled, turning around to return the kiss, but I furrowed my brow when she cocked her head, a brief flicker of confusion crossing her features. "Oh? It looks like someone called me."

"Hm?" I leaned over to look at the Ninetales' phone. Sure enough,when she opened up the call function, there was a red dot pulsing on the voicemail tab. She tapped the icon, and I idly wiggled my legs on the sheets when we saw the unfamiliar number at the top. "Wonder who it was. Maybe we were still having sex and couldn't hear it?"

"No, it looks like it was while we were still asleep..." Rose thought aloud, bringing a hand up and gingerly scratching at her scruff of neckfur, trailing her fingers down to her breasts afterward. After a moment, she turned towards me, bending her knees and sitting up a little bit straighter. "Did you want to get the shower started? I can listen to this real fast, and then I'll hop in with you."

I nodded in agreement, swinging my legs around and hopping to the floor, grunting when my pawpads touched the cold tile; my penis, already halfway soft, bounced between my legs, a tiny twitch running through it from the motion. Taking a deep breath, I opened up the dresser, pulling out a checkered shirt and some jeans, followed by one of Rose's skirts and her hoodie. Spinning on my heels, I set my sights on the bathroom door and started walking...

...and stopped in my tracks when I heard my partner gasp, twisting around to look back at the fire type Pokemon. Her muzzle was curled into a warm smile, getting bigger and bigger by the second, and she pulled her phone away from her ears, holding a hand over the speaker.

"Bill?" She said, beckoning me to come back over. "You should probably listen to this."

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! A Meeting with Kukui!**

* * *

Clouds drifted lazily through the bright blue sky, a crisp, wintry breeze sweeping across the outskirts of Hau'oli City, rows of leafy fronds – and the occasional palm tree – swaying and rustling in the wind. The afternoon sun beat down onto the quiet neighborhood, and I winced when I felt the hot pavement underfoot, raising my legs higher off of the ground as we walked down the street. My ears flicked when I heard a grumble, and I twisted around to look at the tall, muscular Samurott walking behind me, watching as he bent over and dusted his cargo pants off.

"Bah, I wish City Hall had jus' told us 'bout havin' t'do all this from th'start!" The blue-furred sea lion said, standing back up and folding his arms against his tank top, his mustache twitching all the while. "I was plannin' on cookin' up a big meal today, so we'd have leftovers for when we leave!"

"Well, look on the bright side, Cyan," I replied, looking up from my phone and gesturing at the various one-story houses, warm light glinting off of the solar panels on their roofs. The younger Pokemon narrowed his eyes, and I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a cheeky grin. "Walking over to the professor's house will help us work up an appetite, hah!"

"Yeah, heeheehee!" We both jolted at the bubbly laughter that followed, and I glanced over at the lean, lanky Mienshao that jogged up to Cyan's side, fiddling with her fur sleeves – which were tied around her wrists – along the way. "And since you and Rose woke up so late, I bet you're both gonna be staaaaarving!"

"Maybe Bill will, hehe," Rose replied, her nine fluffy tails bouncing from side to side as she looked over her shoulder at us. I smiled, half-turning to face the fox as she continued. "I'm just glad that things are finally picking up. City Hall knows that we're not tourists, and once we meet with Professor Kukui and finish our registration, we'll be ready to start traveling around Melemele. Things are finally starting to pick up again!"

"Bah, I jus' don't see why they're so damn picky." Cyan gruffly shook his head. "It's not like th'League back home told you two that y'couldn't sign up with us way back when!"

"Heheheh, I guess that's a good point," I said with a chuckle, reaching out and tapping a pawspike against the water type Pokemon's shell helmet. He rolled his eyes in response, scratching at his armguards even as I turned forward again. "But from what everyone I've driven during work tells me, the island challenge is way more down-to-earth than something like the League is. I'm not all that surprised we'd have to see Professor Kukui like this."

"It's a good thing he lives right in town, too." I smiled when I felt Rose sidle closer to me, snaking an arm behind my back, and I glanced over at the cream-furred fox, blinking when she looked over at me as well. "How much further do we have to go, Bill?"

"Let me see..." Glancing down to check my phone's map again, my tail wagged sharply when I saw the dot on the screen inching closer to an upcoming turn, the sound of the ocean getting clearer and clearer as we padded down the sidewalk. "Ah, it looks like we need to take a right turn down... here?"

I raised my head and paused, slowing to a stop in-between a pair of houses and gazing around the cul-de-sac we had wandered into; the corners of my mouth curled upward when I felt Erin grab my shoulder and hop up to peek past me. Right in front of us was a short dirt trail that went all the way down to the beach, bordered by palm shrubs and flowering bushes that happily basked in the tropical winter weather. Rose let go of me, taking a couple steps forward and peering from side to side, and a second later, she perked up, twisting around and nodding at us.

"I think I can see a driveway down there!" The Ninetales waved a hand, beckoning us to follow her, and I instinctively stepped forward, our two other teammates walking close behind as we started to move again. "C'mon, this must be the place after all!"

Soft loam smushed around our footpaws as we hastily strolled our way down the gently-sloping path, white, frothy waves rolling repeatedly onto the shore, my nose twitching at the unmistakable scent of salt carrying on the wind. The soil quickly gave way to sand as we reached the bottom, and I blinked in surprise as the bushes abruptly thinned, revealing a small, cozy building set on knee-high stilts barely a foot away from the beach. A small stairway led up to the front door, and I craned my neck to look up, spotting the shape of Ten Carat Hill looming high above the house.

"Hmph! Talk 'bout a view!" A grunt from Cyan shook me out of my trance, and I stared at the Samurott as he stomped past me, staring out at the open ocean with a cocky smirk. "I didn't think y'were allowed t'have houses this close t'th'water!"

"That so cooooool!" Erin crowed, wringing her hands in excitement as she stared out at the surf, her tied fur sleeves swinging this way and that. Rose preemptively grabbed the Mienshao's shoulder, smiling gently at the fighting type when she hopped up and down where she stood. "Now I wish I'd brought my swimsuit with me, heehee!"

"Maybe next time," I replied, slipping past the both girls and walking up onto the porch, and I let out a sigh of relief when my pawpads touched the welcome mat, reaching up and brushing my aura tassels behind my back in the meantime. Rose walked up not a second later, giving the loose end of my shirt a quick smoothing-out, and as Cyan and Erin both followed along – half-fighting each other for room on the stairs – I reached out and rapped my knuckles against the door. "Hello?"

We all jolted in surprise when a loud, yippy bark rang out from inside the house, followed by a series of skittering footsteps, and I took a step back when something thudded heavily against the door, its hinges visibly wiggling from the impact. Rose gasped under her breath, her fur bristling with tension as she stared at the straining doorframe, but before we could do anything, someone else let out a long, hearty laugh.

"Hah, hold on a sec!" My ears flicked at the telltale sound of an Alolan accent, and I folded my arms against my blunted chestspike, unable to keep the smile off of my muzzle as we heard another bark, then the sound of tiny claws scrabbling against the wooden floorboards. "C'mere, you, you're not gonna go knockin' the door down again!"

A couple seconds later, the door swung back, and my eyebrows quirked upward at the sight of a tall, anthro Lycanroc standing in the doorway, wearing an open lab coat, sweatpants and nothing else, leaving his brown-furred body exposed for all to see. A teeny-tiny wild Rockruff was snugly tucked under his arm, excitedly waving its front paws at us in a vain attempt to wriggle free. Erin gasped, abruptly pushing her way past Rose and I to stare the puppy right in the face, and I shuffled sideways, letting Cyan step up next to us even as our youngest teammate squealed.

"Awwww!" Erin bounced on her heels, gingerly pinching the dog's paws between her fingers and shaking them up and down in time with an imaginary beat. The pet Rockruff cocked its head in curiosity, then smiled at the Mienshao, its tongue drooping out of its mouth as it panted from the heat. "He's so cute!"

"Sorry it took me so long to get to the door. I was having Rockruff practice some of his moves downstairs in the lab, yeah?" The anthro Lycanroc said, scratching at his goatee somewhat before giving the four of us a quick once-over, his fluffy tail wagging back and forth. He barely looked older than Rose and I. "It's not every day I get a group of new faces coming to visit. What's the occasion?"

"Eh, you know, island challenge stuff," I replied with a cheeky grin, walking up and offering the rock type a hand; he smiled right back at me and gave me a handshake in return, his grip decisive. Erin continued to play with Rockruff in the meantime, and I chuckled at the Mienshao's cheery antics before continuing. "Sorry, we should probably introduce ourselves. My name's Bill, this is my wife, Rose, and these are our two best friends, Cyan and Erin."

"You must be Professor Kukui, then," Rose added, smiling brightly when the buzz-haired dog nodded in confirmation. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"To you the same, miss." Kukui looked between us again, then took a step backward and shook his head, gesturing at us to follow him into the house. "So, island challenge stuff? Haha, I think I can guess what you're talking about, oh yeah. C'mon in, cousins!"

With that, he ambled his way back inside, with Cyan and Erin keeping hot on his heels. I couldn't help but chuckle at the two younger Pokemon as they pushed ahead, and I looked over at my partner, who was stealing one last glance around the city outskirts, her nine tails waving up and down. Taking her hand in mine, I thumbed towards the open door; the smile on her muzzle betrayed her excitement, and she stepped forward, leading the way inside.

Warm sand and old wood gave way to smoother floorboards, and I wiggled my footpaws the moment we entered the professor's house, the loose ends of my shirt fluttering from the breeze drifting in from outside. Turning around, I quickly yanked the door shut, sighing as a comfortable coolness fell over the room, and I gazed around afterward. A large, rounded aquarium sat in the far corner of the room – a couple of wild Luvdisc swimming around within – with a large loft near the neighboring wall. Just below it was a kitchen nook, and then a pair of couches and a coffee table tucked in the corner.

"Talk about cozy," I muttered under my breath, walking over to the living room and sitting next to Cyan, who was having a hard time hiding his own smirk of excitement despite drumming his fingers impatiently. Rose wandered over to the aquarium in the meantime, watching the wild Luvdisc swim about, while Erin was kneeling on the floor, having coaxed the wild Rockruff onto her lap. "For a lab, this feels way more like our apartments than I thought it would."

"That's because the laboratory's downstairs, cousin." I blinked when Kukui spoke up, my gaze flicking towards him as he milled about the kitchen, searching through the various shelves and cupboards. "You guys want a snack, or a drink or anything?"

"Eh, just water, I think," I replied with a shrug and glanced towards Cyan, who paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement. The Lycanroc stared at us for a moment, then shrugged, opened the fridge, and grabbed an armful of water bottles. "Rose and I just woke up about an hour ago, so we're fine for now anyway, eheh."

"Ahh, late sleepers?" The professor asked, striding over to the living room and setting our drinks down on the coffee table, wiping his hands on his lab coat before sitting right down on a set of cabinets on the floor across from us.

"Hmph, maybe he is. I've been up since seven o'clock, as usual!" Cyan snorted, idly brushing at his tank top and cargo pants; I could tell he was resisting the urge to sit up and smack his fan-shaped tail against the couch cushions, and I brought a hand up to hide my grin. Kukui seemed to realize it as well, giving us both a friendly grin of his own, and he leaned back and relaxed even as the water type continued. "At least goin' on th'island challenge'll fix that!"

"Nuh-uh! Remember when we went camping and we slept in reeeeeeal late, heeheehee?" The three of us turned towards Erin, who was still sitting on the floor with Rockruff, the little brown puppy trying, and failing, to climb up onto the Mienshao's shoulders. I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a cheeky grin when a hot blush flared onto Cyan's cheeks, and the Samurott glanced away, quietly grumbling to himself. "Besides, even if we do sleep in, traveling around Alola'll be lots of fun!"

"Now that's the spirit!" Kukui said, reaching down and opening up one of the cabinets he was sitting on, pulling a laptop out from inside and setting it on the table. Pressing a button to turn it on, he pulled the device open and looked at me. "Speaking of that, how's about we get down to why you're here, yeah? Let me just look you folks up here..."

Grabbing my water bottle, I took a few hefty gulps as the professor leaned in and typed away at the keyboard. Out of the corner of my vision, I could see my partner making her way over to us from the aquarium, running her hands down the curves of her hoodie before sitting with me; leaning back, I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, eliciting a giggle from her in the process. A comfortable quiet settled over the living room, only broken by the occasional yip from Rockruff as Erin giddily scritched at his ears and his stone-lined neckscruff.

A couple of minutes passed before Professor Kukui spoke up again, his tail wagging when he glanced up from the laptop. "Aha, here you are! It didn't take long to find you guys at all... and moved here from Unova, yeah?"

"That's right," Rose said, clasping her hands together on her lap as she explained. "Bill and I originally come from Johto, but we moved here a little over a year ago."

"More than a year already? I'm surprised you all didn't sign up for the island challenge earlier." The anthro Lycanroc tilted his head in thought, looking from Rose and I to our two younger teammates before focusing back on his laptop.

"I've been wantin' t'sign up for it since we got here!" Cyan exclaimed gruffly, reaching up and taking his helmet off, his dark, stubby ears wiggling in the open air as he wiped at his forehead. "We all took th'Unova League challenge a couple years ago, y'know! That's how th'four o'us met!"

Kukui's expression lit up at the blue-furred sea lion's words, and he sat up straighter, wearing an enormous grin on his muzzle. "Woo, that's pretty awesome, cousins! I'm really glad you're interested in trying out our own local challenge, hahaha. You know how it's different from the Pokemon Leagues in the rest of the world, right?"

"I've heard a little bit from passengers I've gotten during my Ryde shifts. Even drove one of them all the way out to Kekona for his first trial," I remarked, chuckling to myself as I thought of the scruffy Togedemaru. "You might as well fill us in anyway, though. Give us the full lowdown."

"Four islands!" The professor abruptly thrust an arm out and held up four fingers, his grin somehow growing even wider as he continued his speech with practiced ease. "You'll travel to each of the four islands here in the Alola region, and each island has a set of trials set up by captains. Once you finish all the trials on one island, you'll take on a grand trial with that island's kahuna, and when you beat them, you'll be able to move on to the next island! The aim is to complete all the trials to become the island challenge champion, oh yeah!"

"Ohh, I see... I got a little confused when my coworkers told me that there aren't any gyms here, but I guess the idea is still the same, isn't it?" Rose thought aloud, reaching out and grabbing her own water bottle, her nine fluffy tails waving from side to side as she took a sip. Her soft fur tickled at my aura tassels, and I scooted forward somewhat, even as the Ninetales continued. "So the captains and the kahunas are like the gym leaders in other regions, huh?"

"Well, not exactly. The kahunas, maybe," The buzz-cut Lycanroc replied sheepishly, dropping his arm to his side and stealing a curious glance at his laptop again. Hunching over, he typed a little bit more, deftly swiping his fingers against the touchpad in the meantime. "But I'm not saying any more than that, yeah? I can't go spoiling every little surprise for you guys, hahaha!"

"Hah, fine by me. It'll make it more satisfyin' t'become th'champs!" Cyan smiled toothily, the water type's mustache shaking as he shook his head.

Professor Kukui didn't reply at first, instead continuing to type for a little while longer, staring at the screen with an intent expression – my gaze flicked over to Erin when Rockruff suddenly scampered away, running to his owner and batting at his sweatpants. The anthro canine instinctively leaned sideways, giving the wild puppy a friendly pat while he worked, and not a second later, he decisively pressed the enter key, all our ears perking up at the sound.

"And that's the last of it!" Dusting his hands against his lab coat, the professor eased back and relaxed, letting Rockruff clamber up onto the cabinets with him as he shot us a full-fledged smile. "You four are now fully registered for the island challenge, oh yeah!"

"Woohooo!" Erin cheered, jumping up onto her footpaws and flinging her arms into the air, her tied fur sleeves swinging around wildly from the motion. The fighting type burst into a fit of giggles almost immediately, rocking back and forth on her heels as she glanced excitedly around the living room. I couldn't help but chuckle at the pink mink's antics, grabbing my water bottle and downing the last few dregs, letting out a refreshed sigh afterward.

"Heh, I'll drink to that." I said, my heart fluttering when I felt my partner slip her hand into mine, and I planted a quick peck onto Rose's cheek before brushing my aura tassels back behind my shoulders and looking over at Kukui. "So where do we go from here?"

The professor swiped at his computer's touchpad somewhat before closing it shut completely, opening the cabinet back up and safely tucking the laptop inside. Then, he stood up, gesturing over at the other end of the house. "First off, you're gonna want to check in with City Hall again, yeah? If you head straight over from here, they should have your challenge amulets and your passport ready by the time you get there."

"Sounds good," I replied, getting up from the couch and tossing my empty water bottle into the trash, and Rose slowly stood as well, collecting her water bottle and sidling out from the coffee table. Cyan did the same, promptly shoving his shell helmet back on before marching over to Erin; he grunted in surprise when his girlfriend abruptly pulled him into a hug, hopping up to her tiptoes so she could nuzzle his chin.

"So what're we supposed t'do about our first trial, anyway?" The Samurott asked after a moment, slowly shaking himself free from Erin's grasp and brushing at his seamitars. The Mienshao playfully stuck her tongue out at him in return, though she flashed Rose and I a silly smile when we both walked over. "I know it's supposed t'be in Kekona City, but who's th'captain?"

"Ahh, the first captain's a teacher at Alola University's west branch, over in Kekona's suburb district," Kukui replied, walking over to us, then glancing down at his footpaws when his pet Rockruff chased after him. The anthro Lycanroc chuckled as the little puppy ran circles around his ankles, and he knelt down to scoop the wild Pokemon up, chuckling when the dog began to lick at his face. "Hehehe, ask the reception desk for Ilima, and they should be able to help you from there, oh yeah!"

"Thank you for everything, professor. You've been a really big help!" Rose said with a grateful smile, bringing a hand up to stifle a laugh when the wild Rockruff looked right at her and barked.

"Ha, it's nothing, cousins. I'm always happy to help folks out with the island challenge!" Kukui let out a chuckle of his own, fluffing his pet's ears a bit before continuing. "Besides, it's probably best you came to me instead of the kahuna, anyway. Ol' Hala's probably swamped with work right about now, with it being right after New Years and all!"

"I guess it's a good thing you live fifteen minutes away, then," I quipped airily, casually slipping my hands into my pockets until I could feel the flats of my pawspikes strain against the denim. "Still, I guess we'd better get going. It was good to meet you, Kukui!"

"Like I said before, to you the same." Professor Kukui nodded, striding past us to open up the door. I blinked a few times when a blast of warm air rushed right into my face, but I shook my head and followed Rose, Cyan and Erin out onto the porch, the latter already hopping down the steps to the road. Glancing over my shoulder, I gave the Lycanroc and his pet a quick wave, to which he raised his voice to call out to us. "Good luck, cousins!"

"Thaaaanks, mister Kukuiiii!" I turned back when I heard Erin pipe up in reply, and a grin spread across my muzzle when I saw Rose duck her head to stifle another laugh, her nine fluffy tails waving this way and that.

* * *

"Yo, bro, what the hell is that? Wake up, bro!"

The anthro Arbok jolted in confusion, reaching up to rub the sleep from his eyes as he sat up on the bed, its springs squeaking as the poison type stared around the dimly-lit motel room, his vision slowly adjusting to the lack of light. The ceiling fan whirled lazily overhead, barely kicking up enough air to make the window curtains shake, and the violet-scaled cobra blinked a couple times when he spotted the thin-winged bat sitting at the nearby table, bouncing up and down in one of the chairs.

"What...? Dude, I was takin' a damn nap," The Arbok hissed while tugging at the hem of his shirt, wrinkles lining the stylized skull printed on the front. "What'd you go waking me up for?"

"Bro, listen!" The Crobat replied emphatically, stuffing his hands into his shorts' pockets and glancing around nervously.

The two of them both went silent, and slowly, but surely, a low buzzing sound began to fill the room, ringing incessantly in their ears. The Arbok scowled grumpily, his hoodflaps opening somewhat when he heard the noise... and then his eyes widened in realization.

"Shit, that's the phone!" Leaping to the floor, he hastily jogged past the television and ran over to the opposite corner of the room, with the Crobat following behind, trying not to step on his friend's long, slithering tail. They both skidded to a stop when they got close to the writing desk, staring nervously at the phone even as it continued to vibrate, the name 'Samantha' visible in big white letters on the screen. "It's Big Sam!"

"Big Sam!?" The purple-furred bat exclaimed, turning to look at his friend, his anxiety replaced by an optimistic smile. "W-Well, what does she want, bro?"

"How should I know!?" The Arbok rolled his eyes, smirking despite his annoyance, and he quickly snatched up the phone, tapping the pickup button with his thumb. "C'mon, dude... maybe she wants us to head home and see her?"

A couple seconds passed, the pair of Pokemon waiting with bated breath – the barest hints of sunlight shined in from outside, casting a faint glow against the skulls on their shirts. Then, there was a brief bit of static from the speakers, making them both jump in surprise.

"Boys?" A smooth, feminine voice said, sending shivers down their spines. The Crobat fidgeted somewhat where he stood, while the Arbok's tail flicked from side to side. "You there?"

"Y-Yeah-!" The cobra blurted out, taking a deep breath afterward in an attempt to calm his nerves, despite the shiver of anticipation that was running down his spine. "Yeah, we're here!"

"Alright," Samantha replied without missing a beat. "The boss has been asking about you two recently. Where are you right now?"

"Uh... Verdant Town?" The Crobat piped up, puffing his chest out and spreading his wings in a weak attempt to hide his confusion. He glanced over at the Arbok for confirmation, then relaxed when the other poison type nodded at him. "Yeah, Verdant Town. We're at Verdant Town!"

"Good." There was a brief shuffling, followed by the sound of footsteps, before Samantha continued. "The boss has a specific job for you two, okay? There's a big surfing competition coming up in a couple weeks on Melemele, and he wants you go and have some fun. Meet folks in the audience, try surfing on the Mantine, the usual."

"Maaaaaaan, seriously?" The Arbok felt himself let out a sigh of frustration at the woman's words, his hoodflaps flaring outward as he shook his head. "That's all he's givin' us? We've been sittin' our asses off for days now!"

"Yeah, we couldn't even do anything during New Years Day since Ilima was home for the party and shit!" The Crobat added, wringing his hands and stomping on the carpeted floor. "It's like everyone forgot about Team Skull except Team Skull, yo!"

"I know, I know..." Samantha said soothingly, her tone helping to calm the grunts down, the both of them getting less and less antsy the further she explained. "But the surfing tournament isn't the only thing going on this month, It's just the first thing on the island that caught the boss' interest. I'll be thinking about you two until you get back home, okay, boys?"

The Crobat and Arbok's cheeks both flushed faintly from embarrassment at the other Pokemon's praise, and as the thin-winged bat sat back down at the table, the violet-scaled cobra smiled slightly, his long, scaly tail slithering back and forth. "Alright, fine. Where do we need to go?"

"The competition's being held over at the resort area in Kekona City, so head down there and lay low. You'll probably see posters about it, so you'll know when it'll be." Another brief bit of rustling rang out from the phone before Samantha continued. "I know you'll be just fine. Did you have any other questions?"

A brief silence settled over the motel room, the motel's ventilation suddenly rumbling to life in the background, and the Arbok twisted around and glancing over at his friend, offering the other poison type a shrug. The thin-winged bat nodded, gesturing towards the phone, then the television, with a wave of his wings, unable to keep the hopeful expression off of his face. The cobra's mouth curled into a similarly-hopeful grin, and then he looked back at his phone, shakily scooping it into his hands and clearing his throat.

"U-Um... S-Sam... could you..." The Arbok started to say, but the surge of bravery vanished just as quickly as it had come, and he closed his mouth and audibly gulped.

A few more seconds passed, the Arbok's words hanging heavy in the air as the phone stayed eerily silent.

"Okay..." A sweet, sultry note played in Samantha's voice when she replied.

The Arbok's grin widened, and he quickly ran over to the television, clutching his phone as tightly as he could. Glancing between both screens, he reached down and groped at the TV stand, his brow furrowing as he ran his palm left and right – only to peek over his shoulder again when the Crobat coughed, offering him a long, curling cable. Snatching it out from the poison type's grasp, he fumbled to plug both ends into the devices, his heart pounding in his chest.

Soon enough, he managed to plug the phone in, and the violet-scaled cobra stepped back, then spun around and grabbed a chair, dragging it over to the wall and sitting down. The Crobat had turned the television on in the meantime, the remote precariously balanced on his knees as he fiddled with the fly of his shorts. The pair of Pokemon winced somewhat as the screen suddenly flashed on... and then a rush of horniness flowing through them as they stared at the voluptuous pair of dark-furred tits, the now-video call playing on the TV.

"...but you'd better make it quick, boys," Samantha cooed, squishing her breasts together and shaking them in front of the camera, her nipples glowing a faint, light grey. "I'm going to hang up right after I cum!"

The grunts smiled lewdly, practically yanking their shorts down their legs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written March 2018)
> 
> Been a while since I wrote any sort of author's note... anyway, this and the next chapter are a little basic; not rough around the edges, but from chapter 3 onward (much like my SFW multi-chapter stories) things start to gel a lot more. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this introduction!


	2. Silk Strings and Sweetpod Trees!

"Alright, everybody, we're just about here. You, uh... you sure this is where you want me to let you guys out?"

I glanced up from my phone, peering out the passenger window when the Flareon next to me spoke up, and I felt the corners of my muzzle curl upward as I gazed at the western edges of Hau'oli City, with a busy pier to our right and even busier warehouses to our left. The car slowly trundled down the road even as I looked around, and I felt my aura tassels slide against my shoulders when we turned down a side street and came to a stop near the curb. While the Flareon parked, I stole a peek over my shoulder at Rose, Cyan and Erin – all squashed into the backseat – and grinned.

"Yeah, this is our stop," I replied, my ears flicking when a telltale chime rang out from the car's radio. It was followed by a click as the Flareon opened his door, and the rest of us quickly did the same, taking a deep breath of the fresh, late morning air as we exited the vehicle. "Ahh, there we go. Thanks for letting us all pile in like that. I drive for Ryde too, so I know how it feels."

"Heh, it's fine, it happens," The Flareon replied with a chuckle, shrugging good-naturedly at us as we walked around to the trunk, which he promptly opened. Two backpacks, a messenger bag, and an enormous hiking pack rested in the back of the car, and Cyan stomped forward and snatched his hiking pack up, an island challenge amulet snugly tied to one of its pockets. As Erin and I grabbed our own bags, Rose dug her wallet out of her skirt, pulling a couple bills out and offering them to the Flareon.

"Even so, thank you very much for dropping us off." The cream-furred fox said, her nine fluffy tails swishing this way and that as our driver took the cash and stuffed it into his pocket. Walking back over to the trunk, she scooped her backpack up and gingerly slipped her arms through the straps, making sure it rested comfortably against her hoodie. "Today's a big day for us, after all."

"Yeah, today's huuuge!" Erin loudly agreed, thrusting an arm out and swinging her own challenge amulet around in the air, the red, yellow, pink and purple bits all glinting in the sun. She dropped her arms back to her sides after a moment, however, her whiskers twitching as she smiled. "We're all finally going on the island challenge!"

"So that's why you have all those bags!" The Flareon raised his head in understanding, closing the trunk before scratching behind one of his ears, his puffy fur ruffling somewhat as the wind picked up. "Well, I guess I ought to wish you good luck before I get going, then."

"Heh, thanks," I said, tapping the line of stars on my phone before flipping the case closed and slipping it back into my jeans. "Here's hoping you get a lot more rides today, too!"

The Flareon beamed when he noticed the rating on his own phone, and he gave the four of us a wave before heading back to the driver's seat. I gave him a wave in return before walking back to the others, and together we watched as he drove away, rounding the first turn and vanishing from sight.

As soon as the car disappeared behind the warehouses, Cyan stretched out, a quiet growl rumbling in the back of his throat as he shook the stiffness from his joints, cricking his neck and slapping his fan-shaped tail against his cargo pants. "Arceus' sake, finally! I feel like I need t'do my mornin' exercise all over again!"

"Awww, c'mon, Cyan, it was only fifteen minutes!" Erin said, drumming her hands against the sea lion's side, her tied fur sleeves flapping against his tank top from the motion.

"Hmph, easy for you to say when you jus' barely reach my shoulders," The Samurott shot back, reaching up and giving the Mienshao a pat between her ears. She playfully stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at him in response.

"Heh, next time I'll see if we can ping a minivan or something." I smiled sheepishly at the two younger Pokemon, making sure my challenge amulet was tied snug to my backpack before looking over at my partner. The cream-furred fox was staring at the pier with a curious expression, her ponytail of headfur waving gently in the breeze, and I slowly walked up to her side, patting her back to get her attention. She blinked, then smiled bashfully at me, clasping her hands together against her hoodie and glancing from me to our teammates. "What did the guidebook say again?"

"Mmm, hang on... let me get it out-" The Ninetales twisted around and dug into her backpack, rooting through her supplies for a moment before pulling said guidebook out, leafing through the pages until she reached one with a bookmark stuck within. She scanned over the paragraphs – her ruby red eyes flicking from side to side – before decisively pointing at a specific sentence and looking up at us again. "Ah, here it is! It says that we're best off heading under the main highways through the forest."

With a shared nod, we ambled towards the main road, stopping at the corner and watching the cars, and the occasional wild, harness-clad Tauros or Mudsdale, zooming in and out of Hau'oli City. A short ways away, the highway slowly sloped upward, rising just above the tops of the hibiscus and sweetpod trees and curving westward. Far below, the sidewalk continued for a couple more blocks before finally giving way to lush green grass and a plain dirt track, with a small sign standing just nearby: Route 1 East. Tugging the loose ends of my checkered shirt tighter around my torsofur, I smiled confidently.

"C'mon, let's get moving," I said, gripping the straps of my backpack and glancing both ways before crossing the street, my tail wagging back and forth as we stepped forward. "Time to get this island challenge started!"

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! Silk Strings and Sweetpod Trees!**

* * *

Fallen seeds crunched and cracked underneath our footpaws as we wandered through the forest, the rest of the sweetpods shaking and rattling as a short gust swept through the higher branches. Flocks of wild Pikipek and Pidove tweeted at each other, only for their song to get drowned out by the muffled rumbling of cars up above, and my gaze wandered over to the concrete pillars that towered just a short ways away. Taking a deep breath of the sweet, fresh air, I glanced around the rest of the sunny, well-lit woods, a sense of calm washing over my senses as I let myself relax.

"Well, this certainly feels familiar," I said, scratching at the fur around my blunted chestspike as I listened to the rustling leaves and chirping birds, slowly turning my head skyward and narrowing my eyes as I gazed up at the patches of blue visible through the greenery. "It's kind of weird seeing it from below, though. Up on the highway it's just a mess of trees until you head north or reach Momi City."

"It's not quite as lush as the mountains are, isn't it?" I turned to look at Rose as she nodded in agreement, running a palm over her breasts as she gazed around as well. Reaching out, I took her other hand in mine and squeezed, and the cream-furred fox leaned in to kiss my cheek. "I hope the weather will stay nice... the forecast for the week didn't call for any storms, but I guess you never know."

"At least this time we're walkin' in th'forest with our clothes on..." My muzzle curled into a knowing grin when I heard Cyan mumble under his breath, his hiking pack jostling noisily as he marched behind us. Erin giggled to herself – no doubt she had heard the remark too – and I spun around to walk backwards, smiling at our two younger teammates as they followed close. "How far's th'next city supposed t'be, anyway? It's not that far, right?"

"Well, it's already been a little while since we got dropped off, and the book said it's about a four-hour hike..." Rose trailed off when a couple strands of her headfur drooped in front of her face, combing her fingers through her bangs and ponytail before continuing. "We'll need to stop for lunch at some point, but we should still make it before sunset, I think! We left fairly early, after all."

"Huh, we won't even have t'camp out?" Cyan said, scratching at his mustache somewhat as he stomped forward, his white, bushy whiskers twitching as he pushed between Rose and I, half-twisting around to look at us even as he took the lead. "With how long you two took screwin' around with miss Krista this mornin', I figured we wouldn't be makin' it anywhere today!"

"Hey now, she had a lot of land... lady... stuff, to do," I replied lamely, my tail wagging sharply at the water type's choice of words. "She wanted to ask us about management stuff, and besides, we were giving you two extra time to pack, remember? Heh, can't blame us for trying to be nice!"

Rose blushed knowingly, but before Cyan could reply to me, a higher, heavier rumble rolled through the air, spooking most of the Pidove into fluttering for the deeper parts of the woods and making our ears gently flatten against our heads, even as we continued to walk. For a moment, a shadow passed over our heads, the noise getting louder and louder, and then quieter and quieter as sunlight began to filter down. Then, after a couple more seconds, the forest returned to its usual calm, the wind whistling serenely through the boughs.

"Woaaaaah..." Erin was the first to speak up, scratching at her short whiskers somewhat as we all started to walk again. "What was that?"

"What do you mean, what was that?" I chuckled, slipping my hands into my pockets until the edges of my pawspikes nudged against the denim, and Erin turned towards me with a bright smile. "If I had to guess, I'd say it was probably a plane. This trail probably takes us past the airport, since we're following the highway and everything."

"Ooh, so they're flying right over us? I thought they had to turn around and come from the other way!" The Mienshao's eyes lit up, and she hopped right up onto her tiptoes, reaching around to hold her messenger bag steady against her tank top as she stared up into the forest canopy.

"Well, they do, but they fly overhead twice to give everyone a good view of the island, too," I replied with a shake of my head, my aura tassels sliding against my backpack. "I think they even told us that way back when we first flew in while we were moving, remember?"

"Nope!" Erin answered earnestly before bounding forward with a spring in her step, her tied fur sleeves swinging around as she skipped between Rose and I, cheerfully leading the way down the trail alongside Cyan.

"Er..." I reached out for the pink mink, opening my mouth to speak, only for the words to die on the tip of my tongue when I thought back to when I'd first heard that, memories of the long, cramped plane ride coming to mind. With a sigh, I dropped my arm and chuckled to myself, shaking my head at the two younger Pokemon. "Heh, fair enough."

The conversation trailed off afterward, the four of us following the highway pillars in relative silence as we hiked our way through the woods, yellow flower petals and crunchy, fallen sweetpods scattered all over the well-worn trail. The chirping of the Pidove quickly faded out the further away from Hau'oli we walked, replaced almost entirely by Pikipek, and wild Grubbin leisurely scooted up and down the trees, occasionally clacking their mandibles against the soft bark.

Before long, though, the forest dimmed as the boughs grew bushier with clumps of leaves and budding blooms, less and less sunlight slipping through the gaps in the overgrowth. The thicket was so shady that it was hard to tell the tree trunks apart from the highway's supports at a glance, and the trail itself started to get overgrown with large clumps of tall grass. The sounds of the highway still lingered overhead, but the warm, wintery breeze was starting to overpower it as it whistled through the-

"Erk-!" My footpaw bumped into something hard, shaking me out of my trance, and I hastily swung my arms out to steady myself, hopping forward a couple times before I felt my balance return. Glancing over my shoulder, I furrowed my brow when I saw a particularly gnarled root jutting up right in the middle of the grass, and I wiggled my leg a bit to try and shake the soreness away. "Don't look now, guys, but I think we hit the 'wild' part of the wilderness."

"It doesn't seem like the most welcoming hike for tourists, does it?" Rose said, a thoughtful expression on her muzzle as she shuffled closer to me, a couple of her tails curling around my own. I relaxed at the feeling, reaching up and gripping my backpack's straps with a grin. "I feel like something could jump out at us at any moment with how dark it's gotten."

"Hmph, if anythin' does jump out, it'll regret it!" Cyan barked in response, eliciting a giggle from Erin when he shook his head and marched forward, letting out a snort of determination. "A few wild Pokemon aren't goin' t'slow us down, that's for damn su-uh-!?"

Rose and I tensed up when the blue-furred sea lion flinched, stopping right in his tracks and letting out an unpleasant yelp. He brought his arms up to his shell helmet, awkwardly grasping at the horn on the front, and I blinked when a slight glint of light trailed down over his head, vanishing just as quickly as I'd noticed it.

"Blegh-!" He grunted, turning around somewhat and wiping his palms over his cheeks, his eyes scrunched shut in displeasure. It took him a few moments to shake himself back to his senses, a frown of annoyance drooping onto his muzzle. "Spiderweb!"

I let go of a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, my shoulders slumping as I walked up to the Samurott and swiping a finger against his helmet. Sure enough, something thin and faintly clingy trailed off of it, and I narrowed my eyes to stare at the telltale, barely-visible string of silk, wiping my hand against my backpack afterward. Rose walked up next to me, cocking her head in confusion, while Erin quickly jumped up to help her boyfriend clean himself off, pulling the spiderweb apart and rapidly wiggling her wrists to shake the stuff off.

"Wow, that was a big one!" The Mienshao said, rocking back and forth on her heels as she spoke. "But you're okay now, right, Cyan?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Her boyfriend replied, sighing to himself before drawing his seamitars, the pair of shell blades scraping quietly against his armguards. Pressing them together, he swung the swords around a few times to make sure that nothing else was ahead of him. "Th'stupid thing was so thin that I couldn't even see it!"

"Strange..." Rose thought aloud, and my eyes flicked towards my partner when she took a couple steps forward and gazed around the forest, her nine tails curling and uncurling nervously. "The book did say that wild Spinarak live on Melemele, but it didn't say they live on this route..."

"Well, at least they should all be asleep by now," I said, giving my partner's shoulder a quick pat as I spoke. "I mean, they only really like to come out when it's... dark out..."

I narrowed my eyes in realization, stealing a glance back the way we'd come. The trail seemed to disappear after a while, and eventually my gaze fell on the concrete pillars standing a short ways away. Off in the distance I could hear a few Pikipek still chirping, but beyond that, there was nary a wild Pokemon to be seen, not even any Grubbin anymore. The forest's silence suddenly felt far, far less tranquil without the sounds of wildlife, and a prickle of unease rolled down my spine.

"Oh boy..." I grunted under my breath, curling my hands into fists as I took a step towards the highway. The others quickly noticed my change in attitude, Erin tilting her head in confusion while Rose and Cyan still surveyed the woods. "Keep your eyes out for anything suspicious, I think we-"

A sharp, chittering hiss interrupted me, and I stumbled backward when a blast of white, stringy silk shot forth from above us, connecting with Cyan's shoulder. The Samurott tensed up when he felt the sticky stuff trail down to his wrists, and he spun on his heels – only for a red blur to smash right into him, his hiking pack making a heavy thud as he toppled to the ground. I sucked in a breath at the sight of the wild Ariados, and it let out a high-pitched screech before jabbing and spitting at my teammate with its legs and mandibles.

"Hey!" I was shaken back to my senses when Erin ran over to her boyfriend, whirling a sharp rock in one of her tied fur sleeves, and she reared back, then slammed the stone right into the spider's back. "Get off, get off him, you big bug!"

Her yell was the jolt that I needed, and I bent my knees and kicked off, focusing my aura as best I could as I dashed over to the two younger Pokemon. Energy swirled around my arms and hands, and a second later, a pair of glowing claws sprouted from my pawspikes, just in time for me to rear back and slam my fist into the wild Ariados' side. It cried out in pain as the blades slashed against its striped, chitinous hide, tumbling off of Cyan and rolling a short ways away... but it wasn't down for long, as it launched another blast of webbing out and pulled itself into the trees.

"Quick, Cyan-" Rose said quietly, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves as she knelt down and helped pick the sea lion up. He growled, trying and failing to scratch the sticky silk off of his arm, but he straightened up when the higher boughs began to rustle ominously. "We need to move... we need to move, now!"

"Follow the highway supports!" I called out, my aura tassels swinging and bumping against my backpack as I snapped my head from side to side in search of the spindly spider. Cyan and Erin both nodded, and I turned towards Rose, her tails still curling and uncurling as she walked up to my side. "If we don't give it as many trees to work with, we might be able to shake it off!"

With that, we burst into a sprint, stepping off the beaten path and making our way towards the rising pillars, the branches still shaking behind us as the wild Ariados gave chase, letting out a series of hisses as it bounded from tree to tree. I grit my teeth, my metal claws dissipating as I gripped the straps of my backpack, my trial amulet bouncing and jostling against my fingers. Rose ran beside me, while Erin had grabbed Cyan's clean arm, dragging him along with her as we tried to make our escape.

It didn't take long for our foe to find us, however, as it launched another string shot high above our heads, latching onto one of the supports and pulling itself in, its jaws chittering as it zoomed, head-first, towards the cement. Stealing a glance over my shoulder, I watched as the bug type landed on the pillar and crawled forward somewhat, only to suddenly turn the other way... and then it shot another blast of silk from its rear, latching onto the next pillar and letting go of the first, grappling from perch to perch with incredible speed.

"Geez..." I grunted, looking forward again and ducking underneath a particularly low-hanging branch. The air rushed loudly past our ears, and I tugged my shirt tighter around my torsofur when my aura tassels slipped in front of my shoulders. "You break one web by accident, I swear!"

"It's still keeping up with us!?" Rose exclaimed, her ruby red eyes going as wide as saucers when she, too, noticed the dark red spider swinging its way through the forest. Taking a deep breath, she bowed her head, a low rumble purring in the back of her throat, and I hastily scooted sideways when I saw the embers leaking from her jaws. She slowed down for just a moment, then spun around and loosed a flamethrower at our pursuer, the raw heat of which made me tense up. "Take this!"

Cyan and Erin ducked as the crackling ball of fire soared through the forest, heading right for the wild Ariados as it drew itself towards another support pillar – and it snapped its fangs together, cutting its own silk thread just moments before the attack connected. The fireball soared mere inches above it, smashed into the concrete and fizzled out, leaving only a very faint scorch mark behind. The spider, on the other hand, got right back to chasing us, inching closer and closer despite how fast we were running.

"This isn't workin'!" Cyan barked out, gripping his seamitars tighter as he stomped forward, his mustache shaking and his fan-shaped tail thumping against the back of his pants. Erin continued to try and pelt the bug type with rocks in the meantime, wiggling her arms after a few close misses. "There's four of us an' one of it, so we jus' need t'fight it an' send it packin'!"

"But we can't let it have the advantage up in the trees either!" I shot back, huffing and puffing with every step I took, my brow furrowed in concentration. "It got the drop on you without any of us noticing, and I don't think getting cocooned isn't exactly my idea of a good time-"

"Waaaait!" Erin blurted out, grabbing the edge of his tank top and yanking hard to get his attention, her usually-bubbly voice sounding frantic. "Look ouuuut!"

The water type swiveled on his heels, and Rose and I both skidded to a stop at the Mienshao's yell, spinning around and watching anxiously as the fighting type scampered out of the way, shooting our foe a pouty glare. The wild Ariados had finally managed to close the distance, clinging high on one of the highway's supports, having launched another string shot from its rear and aiming right at our teammate's head-

In a flash of movement, Cyan dug his footpaws into the grass and brought his shell blades up in front of his muzzle, shifting backwards just an inch as the thick silk threads slammed into his hands, the webbing trailing up his bare, previously clean arm. The red spider hissed loudly when it felt its attack connect, instinctively jabbing its long, spindly legs into the strings and reeling itself in, its chittering getting louder and louder as it closed in on its prey.

Then, the Samurott raised his gunked-up arms and swung both seamitars in a wide cleave, the silk strings on his arms moving right along with him as he spun around and lashed out in the direction of the forest. Sunlight glinted against his helmet as he turned, and I felt myself grin when I realized what the younger Pokemon was doing. Sure enough, the wild Pokemon's chittering grew louder when it realized too late that it had been baited in; it slammed hard into a nearby tree trunk, dragging roughly against the bark and smashing into a few other trees before hitting the ground.

"Grrrah-!" Cyan roared out a battlecry, swinging the unfortunate bug type this way and that, eventually whipping both arms up above his helmet, sending the spider careening into the forest canopy and crashing into the higher boughs all the way up. "Eat this, eight-legs!"

Then, he pulled his seamitars apart, a blue, watery glow surrounding one of the shell blades as he brought it right back down onto the silk strings, cleaving through the webs like a hot knife through butter. Without anything to hold them down, the string shot soared away along with the spider, its loose ends fluttering in the air as it zoomed up into the branches, and I half-winced when I heard more than a few snaps and crunches off in the distance, the leaves still rustling in the spider's wake. After a couple seconds, the noises finally dwindled into silence, leaving only the faint breeze blowing over our fur.

"Hrmph!" My gaze flicked over to Cyan when he grumbled, looking over his arms and seamitars, a grimace wriggling onto his muzzle when he noticed a few stray threads clinging to the blades. "Blech... dammit, this junk's goin' t'take forever t'clean off!"

I felt my tension drain away as my mind processed the Samurott's annoyed remark, and I let out a heaving sigh of relief, letting my arms drop limply to my sides and walking over to my teammate to give him a pat on the back. "Heheheh... would it cheer you up if I told you that you were right and trying to run away was probably a hasty idea?"

"Ehh, a little bit," The blue-furred sea lion replied, scratching at the clumps of silk still stuck to his arms and elbows, only to pull away when the stuff just rubbed off against his fingers instead. "I don't think I would've been able t'trick it if I couldn't see where it was comin' from, so runnin' helped us out anyway."

"Cyan!" We both turned around when Erin yelled, and the water type stumbled back a bit when his girlfriend tackled into his chest, throwing her arms around his waist and hopping up and down, her messenger bag bouncing against her backside. "That was awesome! Are you hurt or anything? I can get the potions and stuff out if you need 'em!"

"I'm fine! I jus' feel grimy. An' I'm getting' hungry, too," He answered, smiling awkwardly as he gave the Mienshao a quick pat on the head with his clean – or at least, cleaner – hand, then reaching up to adjust his shell helmet.

I chuckled at the sight, finally letting myself fully relax, and I turned around, brushing my aura tassels back behind me as I looked over at my partner. Rose, too, was smiling at our two younger teammates, her nine fluffy tails waving up and down as she ambled over to me, clasping her hands together against her midriff. More sunlight was finally starting to shine down from above, helping to illuminate the woods, and I wrinkled my nose slightly the scent of the sweetpod trees wafted past.

"Phew... I guess that wasn't very close, but I was worried there for a moment," She said, leaning in to plant an affectionate smooch on my muzzle. I gladly returned the kiss, but the cream-furred fox pulled away after a second to continue, glancing from side to side with a curious expression. "I'm can't see the trail anymore, though, do you? I know it got rougher earlier, but now I can't tell which way we were going at all. "

"Well, we might as well check." I furrowed my brow, smiling confidently as I reached into my pocket to dig my phone out, flipping the red case open and powering it on. Thumbing at the map icon, I idly tapped my footpaws in the grass, waiting for the app to load.

Then it loaded, and after staring at the screen for a moment, I let out a long, low sigh. "Oh boy."

"What?" Rose said, a note of concern playing in her voice as she cocked her head. Cyan and Erin both heard my uncharacteristic noise as well, regrouping with us as well. "What is it?"

My mouth slowly curled into a sheepish smile as I turned myself around, letting the others take a look at the map along with me. A birds-eye view of Hau'oli City and the surrounding area shined on the device, with a handful of clean yellow roads snaking their way across the rest of the island, and a blue dot pulsed near a highway heading north of the city. Rose understood first, bringing a hand up to her muzzle in thought, Cyan and Erin realizing it almost immediately after.

"Oh, come on!" Cyan shook his head, loudly smacking his fan-shaped tail against his pants for emphasis, and he reached up to stroke his mustache, only to think better of it when the loose ends of the spiderweb tickled at his arm. "We've been goin' th'wrong way th'whole damn time!?"

"Probably not the whole time, but we're definitely off-course, eheh," I chuckled, scratching at my ruffled torsofur as I stepped away, pulling my phone back and scanning over the map. "Wouldn't surprise me if we accidentally took a wrong turn back when the forest first started to get dark."

"So what are we gonna do now, huh?" Erin piped up, rocking back and forth on her heels – and then a loud, gurgling rumble rang out from her stomach, prompting her to look down at her tank top, then giggle. "Heehee, excuse me!"

"After dealing with that Ariados, I think we're all tired, so..." Rose hummed, stepping over to the nearest highway pillar, patting her footpaws against the dirt a bit before gesturing at us to come over as well. "Why don't we take a break and get those leftovers out? I'm sure once we're full and feeling better, it won't take us long to get to Momi City at all!"

* * *

"Finally, sweet, sweet air conditioning," I half-joked, dragging my footpaws against the thin carpeting as I stumbled into the cozy old inn room, making a beeline for the couch sitting on the other side of the room and staring out the windows. A dark, cloudy sky spread out before us, the sun having long since finished setting, leaving only the numerous streetlights to illuminate the city that spread out off in the distance. Dropping my backpack to the floor, I crumpled onto the sofa and let out an exhausted grunt, my tail thumping against the cushions.

"Hmph, took us long enough t'find a place t'stay!" I glanced over my shoulder when Cyan replied, watching him march over to a nearby doorway and practically slam his seamitars and hiking pack down, bits of grime clinging to the spiderwebs on his arms and wrists. Rose and Erin strolled into the room just behind him, the former wearing a slightly-embarrassed frown, and the blue-furred sea lion yanked the bathroom door open. "I'm callin' first dibs on th'shower, an' then we'll see about dinner or somethin'!"

With that, he stomped inside and shut the door behind him, leaving the three of us alone in the tiny living space. We stared at each other for a few awkward seconds, but Erin perked up quick, her whiskers twitching as she gave us a sneaky smile and scampered over to the bedroom. That just left my partner and I, and I scooted back a bit, reaching my arm out and beckoning her to join me on the sofa.

"Well, we made it," I said, smiling at the Ninetales as she walked over, slowly slipping her own backpack off and neatly setting it down next to mine. She sat down with a soft sigh, her nine fluffy tails curling over the back of the couch, and I gave her a reassuring smile. "Hey, it's fine. Once Cyan gets out of the shower I'm sure he'll be back to his usual self. That's how it usually goes."

"I guess," Rose's lightly accented voice made my ears twitch, and she inched closer to lean her head against my shoulder. I snaked an arm around her back in the meantime, her ponytail of headfur brushing at my aura tassels. "I just feel bad that we got so lost trying to get here. We were all so excited about going on a new adventure that we forgot how tough it can be sometimes."

"Rose, I should have gotten my phone out to check the map from the start," I replied with a shake of my head. "Plus, the trail wasn't exactly marked that well. We all messed up a bit, that's all."

"Mmm..." The cream-furred fox twisted around a bit, snuggling up to me and running her fingers through my torsofur, gently scritching at the fur around my blunted chestspike. "Thank you, Bill. Maybe I should look through the guidebook for something fun to do tomorrow. Momi City seems a lot different from Hau'oli, after all."

My heart swelled in my chest when a warm smile finally crossed her features, and I leaned over, eliciting a chuckle from my partner as we both toppled over and spread out across the couch, listening to the muffled sound of the shower in the background. "Sounds like a plan. But right now? I think we just need to take it easy, heheheh..."

* * *

Water noisily spouted from the shower as Cyan yanked the knobs on, stroking his mustache a few times before reaching up and pulling his shell helmet off, his dark, stubby ears wiggling as he set it down near the sink. Tugging at his tank top, the water type tossed it to the floor, roughly undoing his belt and unbuttoning both the front and back of his cargo pants, a gruff sigh escaping his muzzle when his penis and balls dropped out, a steamy draft blowing over them. Giving his fan-shaped tail a pat, he got into the tub, pulled the curtain over, took a deep breath, and stepped forward.

"Hrrrgh, now that's more like it," The Samurott groaned the moment the hot water started to pelt down onto his fur, thoroughly soaking his forehead and trickling down the rest of him. Droplets ran down the thick silk that coated his arms, and he let out another unpleasant grunt at the grimy feeling, glancing around until he spotted a bar of soap and an enormous bath sponge sitting in a small indent in the wall.

Cyan reached for the bar, only to pause when he heard the curtain rustle slightly, a brief blast of cooler air intruding on the steamy shower... and then he stiffened in surprise when someone lean and lanky embraced him from behind, a pair of arms sneaking their way around his muscular chest. "How are you doing, Cyan? Heeheehee!"

"E-Erin, don't sneak up on me like that!" Cyan stuttered, peeking over his shoulder at the pink mink as she nestled her chin in the small of his back, her head raised and expression bright. Her tied fur sleeves trailed down his chiseled abs – dangling an inch away from his crotch – and he shook his head, sending a fair amount of water careening onto his girlfriend. "An' I'm jus' fine, thanks!"

"Good!" Erin cheerfully, peppering her boyfriend's shoulderblades with a series of little kisses, her short tail shaking as she swayed from side to side. "That fight we had with the wild Ariados was really cool, huh? Even though it ambushed us and then you got gunked up with all that yucky gross string shot stuff, you showed it who's boss!"

"Feh, it wasn't that tough! I want t'have a real battle, with another island challenger or somethin' like that!" The sea lion said, snatching the soap and lathering his palms before scratching hard at his forearms. The webbing started to loosen up as the suds sank in, and a pleasant tingle ran through him from the sensation of the steam and warm water. "An' maybe if we hadn't gone th'wrong way, I bet we'd have met someone like that on th'trail."

"Awww, that's not fair! Once we started moving west again the forest got really nice and calm and pretty!" Erin remarked, patting her hands against Cyan's midriff for emphasis, moving her head around to his side and flashing him a huge, silly smile. "And the leftovers for lunch were great!"

"Huh, thanks." Cyan rolled his eyes at the fighting type as he set the soap aside, bringing his arms up to scrub at his short-cut headfur afterward. He scrunched his eyes shut as the shower beat down onto his ears, sending the suds down his face and neck even as he combed his fingers over his head. "I'm jus' frustrated with that an' feelin' grimy th'whole afternoon."

"Yup, I noticed," The Mienshao replied with surprising dryness, only for her quip to devolve into another fit of giggles, and she snuggled even closer against his backside, rubbing her palms up and down his well-defined abs. "Heeheehee, I betcha I can help with that, though...!"

Without warning, Erin's hands started to move even lower, her fur sleeves grazing against Cyan's inner thighs, and the Samurott tensed up when he felt her curl her fingers around his penis, giving his soft shaft an enticing squeeze. A groan escaped his throat when a telltale wave of arousal rolled through him, and he leaned forward to let the shower wash the soap off of his face, the mix of suds and water running down his chest and abs.

"Ghhh-! A-Alright, alright..." He breathed out, rubbing his eyes before twisting around and giving his girlfriend a resigned snort; despite the noise, the water type couldn't help but smile toothily at the other Pokemon standing behind him. "Were y'plannin' this before we got here, or what?"

"Nope! I just think this'll help you feel better!" Erin shook her head in response, playfully sticking her tongue out and blowing him a raspberry. She took a step back afterward, rocking back and forth on her heels and staring at her boyfriend with baby-doll eyes. "Oh, oh, and turn around! I don't wanna have to be under the shower while I'm doing this!"

"Hmph, an' y'think I do?" Cyan grumbled under his breath, but he dutifully turned around all the same, leaning over a bit to let the warm water spatter against his shoulders, taking a deep breath of the steamy air as liquid streamed down his back.

Erin beamed at him, then squatted down until she was eye-level with his crotch, a tinny noise ringing out through the bathroom wall when her knees met the floor of the tub. Reaching up, she gently cupped the Samurott's wet, fuzzy sack, letting his balls bounce somewhat atop her palm before making a beeline for his smoothshape dick, curling her thumb and forefinger around the base of the shaft. It was already half-hard from her earlier groping, and she flopped the hefty, lighter-blue length up and down, watching it rise higher and higher with an eager expression.

Soon enough, her boyfriend's cock had reached full-mast – he let out another deep, shaky groan when it did – and the Mienshao wrapped the rest of her fingers around it, feeling it twitch and throb needily in her grasp. Slowly, slowly, she gave it a stroke from one end to the other, and a glob of precum promptly leaked out, gleaming wetly even against the rest of the water. Smiling, Erin repeatedly smeared her thumb against the Samurott's dark-colored cocktip, teasing more and more of the goop out, and then she stroked his shaft again, lubing it up as best she could.

"Wow, you really are pent up, huh?" The pink mink said, looking up as she spoke, her short tail wiggling like a snake as she continued to run her hand back and forth over Cyan's dick.

"Th-That's what y'always say!" The blue-furred sea lion shot back, but Erin's attention suddenly shot towards the wall of the shower, and he furrowed his brow in confusion. "What?"

"Oooh, wait, wait, this'll be fun!" She sat up a little bit straighter, reaching up to the indent in the wall and grabbing the huge sponge, and Cyan simply stared as she dunked it under the water that was flowing down his tail, soaking the yellow thing right through. Wisps of steam wafted past Erin's whiskers as she leaned back again, and she held the sponge from both ends, shaking any stray droplets out of the holes. "There we go... we'll get you off and get you clean at the same time, heehee!"

Cyan's rust red eyes went wide when the fighting type wrapped the sponge around his cock, and he shuddered as she squeezed all of the hot water out around it, wave after wave after wave of pleasure surging through him. The yellow thing was slightly rough, yet also very soft, around his shaft, and he reflexively rocked his hips forward, his stubby ears wiggling when Erin let out another giggle. After a couple of seconds, she started to stroke him again, curling the sponge around and steadily pumping it back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

"G-Gghhuh... d-damn-" The water type swore, pressing his forearm against the wall to steady himself, barely even able to feel the webbing on it anymore as arousal flooded into his mind. His fan-shaped tail flapped from the sheer sensations, and he kept thrusting into the sponge as if it was a toy, his vein pumping out gush after gush of sticky, oozy pre.

Minutes passed as Erin continued to jerk her boyfriend off, pumping the sponge back until it rubbed right up against his crotch, and she leaned in close to lick at his tip, the taste of pre lingering in her mouth. The Mienshao grinned from ear to ear, however, when she suddenly picked up her pace, deftly speeding the sponge up and down across his entire length, lightly slapping the bottom of it against his balls with each and every stroke. Cyan inhaled sharply when his girlfriend sped up, another groan rumbling in the back of his throat from the sheer onslaught of pleasure, a telltale tension starting to stir deep within him.

"Nnngh... E-Erin...!" He shuddered again, the hot water plinking against his back and shoulders, sending sparks through his senses. "I-I'm gettin' close-!"

"Yeaaaaaaah!" The pink mink cheered, her bubbly voice drowned out somewhat thanks to the shower, and she abruptly unwrapped the sponge and tossed it over her shoulder, curling both palms around the sea lion's dick and pumping as quickly as she could. "Let it aaaaall out, Cyan!"

The sudden change from the slight roughness of the sponge to her more vigorous hands, not to mention her even-faster pumping, was enough to drive him over the edge: the Samurott scrunched his face up and let out a heavy growl as he came, a torrent of cum erupting from his cock like a water gun, shooting out and splattering all over Erin's face and torso. The Mienshao squealed as her boyfriend blasted his entire load onto her, and she squeezed his shaft tight, milking him for all he was worth even as he continued to unload on her.

Neither of them were sure how much time had passed when Cyan finally reached the end of his orgasm, breathing heavily as the last few trickles of cum trailed out into the tub, getting swept up in the swirling water and heading right down the drain. Erin hunched over, sticking her head between his legs to let the shower clean her face off, the water type's balls rubbing against the round patch of purple fur on her forehead.

"Mmmmmm..." The pink mink hummed, shimmying from side to side a bit before scooting back to the other side of the tub, and she looked down at her sticky, soaking chest, her nearly-flat boobs and the stripe running around her midriff still totally covered in cum. "Feeling better, Cyan?"

"Grrhhooh... y-yeaah..." He stammered out in reply, opening his eyes just a crack and staring down at his girlfriend as she happily washed herself off, all of his muscles relaxing at once as the afterglow settled over him. The stress of the day's events drained from his mind, and he looked over his forearms, giving the loosening clumps of silk a few more quick scrubs. "Yeah, yeah, you were right, that helped. Th-Thanks, Erin."

"Heeheehee, you're welcome, goofball!" Erin replied, patting Cyan's side as she slowly got to her footpaws, glancing at his arms as well. "Now we just gotta finish cleaning up, huh?"

"Hmph, you need t'clean up more than I do now!" Cyan pointed out, retrieving the soap from the shelf and tapping it between the Mienshao's ears with a smirk. "Now what'd you do with th'sponge?"

"Heeere you go!" Erin piped up, twisting around and picking said sponge up from the floor of the tub, smushing the wet thing right into the Samurott's face with a giggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written April 2018)
> 
> As I mentioned previously, this chapter is a little basic, and I think it shows. Not that "the team is making their way through an area and encounters an obstacle" is bad, obviously, but even when I was finished I felt like it didn't completely click with what I'm trying to go for with this story, both SFW-wise (exploring Alola, character interactions) and NSFW-wise (horny scenes, nudity and such, etc). Going from a battle-and-chase scene to the team crumpling into a hotel and getting it on feels a tad jarring to me even now. That said, I still think it was a lot of fun to write, and hopefully you found it a lot of fun to read, too!


	3. Harboring Friends and Folklore Alike!

"Phew-" I sighed as I stepped out onto the balcony, my tail wagging back and forth when a fresh, morning breeze blustered past the cozy little inn, sweeping over the sleepy roads and sending a shake through the trees. The crisp coolness sent a chill down my spine, and I stole a peek down at my balls, feeling my sack swing between my legs as I shut the door and looked outward. A smile quickly spread across my muzzle at the sight of Momi City spreading out on the horizon: buildings big and small spread throughout the palm trees, and long ships slowly sailed towards the shoreline. "The view's a lot better than it was last night, huh?"

"Yup, it's awesome!" My ears flicked when Erin giggled, and I looked over at the nude Mienshao, who was curled up in a plastic beach bench to my left, her whiskers and short tail swishing from side to side as she fidgeted in her seat. "We should've come out here while we were eating breakfast, I bet that would've been fun!"

"Hmph, not without a table," Cyan mumbled quietly, though not so quietly that I couldn't hear him, and my gaze turned towards the also-naked Samurott, who was sitting on the edge of the bench, scratching his arms to make sure that all the spiderwebs were gone. A hot, red blush had flared onto his cheeks, no doubt because of the hefty erection that he was sporting, and I felt the corners of my mouth curl into a sly grin.

"I think you could rest a plate on your lap just fine, boner or not." I shot the water type a wink, trying hard not to laugh when he stammered out an incoherent grunt in response. Giving him a quick pat on the shoulder, I looked back out towards the city again, tracing a line down the winding road leading down towards the ocean. "Still... it definitely looks a lot smaller from up here, compared to driving through it on the highway."

"I didn't think it would all look so... old..." My tail wagged once when a softer, lightly-accented voice spoke up, and I turned towards Rose, who was sitting in the other bench-chair, the guide to Melemele Island resting cozily atop her crossed legs. The slender-yet-busty Ninetales smiled when I walked over, scooting sideways a tad to make some room on the bench for me to sit with her. "It's a nice change of pace from Hau'oli, though, isn't it?"

"Heheheh, no kidding," I chuckled, easing down onto the bench and wrapping my arms around my partner's midriff, then suddenly pulling her onto my lap, her nine fluffy tails drooping over the side of the bench. Rose gasped in surprise – her fur bristling for a split-second – but she relaxed just as quick, leaning back and wiggling her butt against my crotch. Her inner fire surged as we cuddled up together, and I gave her a quick kiss before looking back at our two younger teammates. "So what do we want to do today? I booked us for two nights, so we've got the whole day to go out and look around Momi City."

"Lookin' around sounds fine t'me, but don't forget we need t'plan out how we're goin' t'get to th'next city! I don't want t'go an' get lost again!" Cyan remarked brusquely, dropping his arms to his sides and shaking his head, his bushy mustache shaking from the motion.

"Aww, c'mon, Cyan, we can do all that laaater!" Erin reached out to give her boyfriend's fan-shaped tail a hard tug, prompting the blue-furred sea lion to twist around and shoo her away, despite the slight smirk that crossed onto his muzzle. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him, then looked back at Rose and I with an excited smile. "What about in the guidebook, Rose, huh? Does it talk about anything cool in there?"

"Hang on, let me get to the sightseeing section." The cream-furred fox gingerly leafed through the book, her ruby red eyes shining as she skimmed over photos and paragraphs alike. A few seconds later, she paused on one particular page, and after reading it over, she smiled warmly, tapping her finger against the page. "Oh, here's something that sounds interesting! Hehehe, I think this might be right up your alley, Cyan. Here, listen..."

Rose sat up straighter and cleared her throat, and I tilted my head, my heart fluttering when my partner spoke up, her voice ringing clearly through the morning air.

"'While Momi City has great historical significance to the Alola region, it is a port town first and foremost, and nowhere is that more obvious than the Momi Harbor Swap Meet, where Pokemon gather in order to sell everything from food to trinkets, clothing, and gadgets. While it may not be as organized as going to Hau'oli Mall, it is definitely worth a trip for those interested in a local tradition.'" Rose read aloud, taking a deep breath and looking up from the book afterward, glancing from me to Erin to Cyan. "I think that sounds like fun, doesn't it? We haven't been to a big marketplace like that since we last visited Driftveil!"

"Seems like a good place to start, yeah!" I thought for a moment, looking out at the small, old-looking city all the while. Morning sunlight glinted off the water, and I blinked when I spotted a cargo ship making its way towards the canal leading out to the open ocean. "It'd be a good chance to restock on supplies and things, and once we're all done we could look around for something else to do."

"Yeaaaaaah! Let's do it!" Erin cheered, her tied fur sleeves swinging as she pumped her fists, and Cyan scooted around and nodded in agreement, folding his arms against his light-blue chest and smiling toothily at Rose and I. I grinned, both at their shared enthusiasm and at the water type's still-twitching penis, which he seemed to have forgotten about.

"Well, unless you want some help with that," I began, gesturing towards his length with a light shake of my head before slowly getting up as well, offering a hand to Rose along the way. She gladly took it, and my grin widened when Erin reached for Cyan's crotch. "Let's get dressed and get going!"

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! Harboring Friends and Folklore Alike!**

* * *

"Fresh fish, get your fresh fish! We got 'karp, 'washi, Basculin too!"

"Hey, miss, I bet you'd look good in a shell necklace! Or maybe a flower lei? C'mon over!"

"Dresses and patterned shirts over here, made with love right here in Alola!"

Clear skies shined down on the packed parking lot, the worn, cracked concrete feeling hot under our footpaws as we wandered down the road, carefully pushing through the crowds of anthro Pokemon milling about. Countless standing tents had been set up throughout the harbor, their vendors calling out here and there, and I gazed around for what felt like the seventh time since we'd arrived, taking in the sights and sounds of the swap meet. My heart skipped a beat when I heard Rose hum in wonder, and I glanced over at my partner, her curves bouncing within her hoodie. Instinctively, I smoothed out the loose ends of my shirt, making sure my trial amulet was still tied to my backpack.

"Not exactly the kind of marketplace we were thinking of, huh?" I remarked, smiling to myself when we passed by a stout Kecleon man selling intricately-carved oars, with what looked like wild Sharpedo teeth attached to the edges. Neighboring it was a stall with multiple shelves of sports caps, with a fluffy Lopunny girl standing around, trying to slip one of said caps around her long ears. "Seems more like a flea market than anything else, heheheh."

"I guess so, but it feels a little rude to call it that, doesn't it? Everything we've seen looks like it's very nice quality. Like a farmer's market, almost..." Rose replied, unable to hide her curiosity as she leaned in and looped an arm around my own, her nine fluffy tails swaying from side to side as we walked along. "I guess that's why it's called a swap meet and not a marketplace. I didn't know there was anything like this here on Melemele."

"Hard t'call it a farmer's market when there's barely any food 'round here! Other'n that fish seller a ways back, all I've seen is places t'buy lunch," Cyan said as he strode up to my other side, his hiking pack shaking and clunking as he turned and gestured towards the tents we'd just passed by.

"Maybe the actual farmer's market part is in a different area? If push comes to shove, we can always just ask someone who works here, or maybe check with one of the regulars." I shrugged at the Samurott, tapping my pawspike against his armguard and shooting him a cheeky grin. "Why, in the mood for kebabs or something?"

"Ooh, I could go for campfire fish and potatoes myself..." Rose added, licking her lips before turning towards the water type. "Let's look around some more, Cyan. I'm sure there's more than one fishmonger around here, after all."

"Yummm! That sounds great!" Erin piped up while Rose was talking, dashing around us – then skidding to a stop inches away from a tall, anthro Trumbeak heading in the other direction. She hastily scooted out of the way, and I offered the long-beaked Pokemon a sheepish wave, though he only sent us a silent glare as he walked by. The slim Mienshao didn't notice in the slightest, and we all slowed to a stop when she hopped in front of us, her messenger bag slapping against her shorts and tank top. "I wonder what else they've got here? Maybe I can buy some souvenirs and send 'em back to mom and dad, heehee!"

My grin widened at that, and I gave the pink mink a friendly pat on her head, getting a giggle out of her in the process. Pausing for a moment, I scanned across the swap meet again, looking from tent to tent to tent as the sounds of chatter filled the air-

"Hey, you there! With the trial amulets!"

I gave a start when a rumbling, Alolan-accent rang out, and then I twisted around to search for the source of the noise, the tips of my aura tassels grazing against my backpack. Rose's ears perked straight up at the sound as well, and she too began to glance around, her ruby red eyes flicking this way and that. Scanning over the road, I eventually spotted a shirtless, muscular Arcanine sitting over at a nearby tent, waving a bulky, orange-furred arm above his shaggy, mullet-styled mane.

"Er..." Bringing a finger up, I stared at him and pointed at my blunted chestspike, unable to keep the uncertainty out of my voice.

"Hah, yeah, I mean you bunch!" The scruffy fire type barked out a laugh, beckoning at us to come over with a quick wave of his hand. "You're all new faces, you've all got trial amulets, and you all look lost, of course I'm talkin' to you!"

The four of us shared a mutual look, and then I relaxed, taking a deep breath as I strolled across the section of the parking lot, my teammates following close behind me; Cyan's fan-shaped tail thumped against his cargo pants, and I could hear Erin skipping alongside him with a spring in her step. Slowing to a stop in front of the Arcanine's desk, I slipped my hands into my pockets and gave the tent a quick once-over, raising an eyebrow at the various boxes sitting around the tent.

"Mmm... seems like you're just starting to get set up," Rose hummed softly as she stepped up next to me, smoothing a few wrinkles out from her hoodie and skirt before nodding at the other fire type. "Did you just get here, sir?"

The bulky canine chuckled to himself, leaned back in his chair – which squeaked slightly under his weight – and nodded at my partner. "Pretty sharp, heh! I got here about an hour ago, to be honest, but I like to wait a while and see who all shows up in the mornin'. Like the four of you! This your first time to Momi City, kids?"

"Yeah, we just got in last night," I replied, briefly looking past the fire type's tent, my gaze lingering on the highway as it rose above the streets. Focusing back on the older Pokemon, I shrugged, making my trial amulet shake for emphasis. "We leave tomorrow for Kekona, though, so we're not here for very long."

"Ahh, too bad. Momi City's got too much stuff to see in just a day, you know!" The Arcanine said, drumming his fingers against the table before leaning over, wrapping his arms around one of the boxes on the ground and hefting it up onto the table with a heavy thud. "Though it is nice to see some Pokemon who aren't locals gettin' so excited about the island challenge."

"Oh? What do you mean, sir?" Rose tilted her head, a few strands of her headfur drooping down in front of her face, and she reached up to brush her bangs back, her hand briefly lingering on her own trial amulet.

"Ehh, most Pokemon who move here are either young sprouts already lookin' for work, or old folks who think they're all too old to go adventurin' anymore. Alola isn't the same if you don't go on the challenge, if you ask me!" The vendor shook his head, his own messy mane falling down the sides of his face. "But anyway..."

Sitting up straighter, he pointed a clawed finger straight up, wagging it at us for a moment before plunging it into the box on the table, cutting through the tape on top with two swift motions. Reaching over in full, he grabbed the pair of cardboard flaps, carefully pulling them apart...

Erin let out a gasp, scooting right up next to Rose and leaning in to look at the box's contents, while Cyan stomped up behind me, hunching over my shoulder and watching as the Arcanine began to unload his stock. Out from the box came some clear, plastic bins, segmented and filled with all sorts of loose rocks and handmade jewelry, ranging from crystals hanging on long cords to the telltale shine of a few evolution stones in the corner of one case.

"You like 'em, huh? These are the most recent batch I've got, so go ahead and take a look!" The Arcanine scratched at his mane once he had finished unloading the first box, rapping his knuckles against the top of the displays for emphasis. Erin happily did just that, and so did I, reading over the labels stickered underneath each spot, from loose necklace cords and clasps, to citrine, kyanite, and multiple colors of vividly-tinted aura quartz- wait, aura quartz? I stared, transfixed, at a particularly well-cut crystal that was colored as blue as the fur on my face.

"Huh, y'make all o'this stuff?" Cyan asked as he raised his head, only to let out a grunt when the horn on his shell helmet tapped against the roof of the standing tent; I bit the inside of my cheek when I heard the noise, trying to keep myself from chuckling.

"It's a hobby of my husband's, actually, tapu bless him. When he's not helpin' out at the heiau for work, he's at home makin' these from special healin' crystals he buys online. We just sell 'em on the side..." A note of happiness played in the older fire type's voice as he explained himself, his bushy tail wagging back and forth as he thought of his aforementioned partner.

"Hay-ee-ow?" Erin said slowly, sounding out each syllable, the pink mink's whiskers twitching as she rolled the word around on her tongue. "What's a heiau?"

"Hah, it's the Alolan temple just south of here, right on the waterfront! Momi Harbor Historical Monument, it's called now." The Arcanine replied, standing up somewhat and raised his arm high, and Rose and I both twisted around to look where he was pointing, the former hopping up to the tips of her footpaws to peer past the tents. It was somewhat distant, but staring through the tents and crowds, we could just barely make out the shoreline. "The harbor's right next to it, so if you just walk a short ways, you'll find it no problem. If you're serious about goin' on your island challenge, then you bunch oughta pay it a visit, that's what I say!"

"A history memorial... that sounds lovely!" Rose said with a warm, modest smile, her nine fluffy tails waving as she pulled her backpack around and unzipped the main pocket, digging around for the guidebook even as she continued. "And since it's nearby, we could go visit and then come back here to finish our shopping, too. Thank you for letting us know about it, sir!"

"Hrm, I still want t'go an'look for those fish sellers we heard earlier," Cyan grunted, taking a step back and glancing around the swap meet again, furrowing his brow as he looked back the way we had come, tents lining each section of the parking lot.

"And I wanna buy a nice necklace or something for mom and dad, too!" Erin added, pointing excitedly at the Arcanine's plastic case of crystals, her messenger bag slipping down drooping next to her tied fur sleeves.

I took a deep breath in, thinking to myself for a moment, and then I exhaled, stepping back and sneakily taking my partner's hand in mine, giving her an affectionate squeeze. The cream-furred fox hummed softly at the feeling, reaching over with her free hand and tugging at my checkered shirt in return. "Tell you what, why don't you two finish your shopping now, and when you're done, you can meet back up with Rose and I at the memorial. Sound good?"

"Fine by me!" Cyan nodded, idly wiping at the handles of his seamitars, and Erin answered us with a couple of cheery 'uh-huh!'s as well.

"Alright!" Smiling, I shot the two younger Pokemon a thumbs-up before looking back at the Arcanine. "And thanks for the tip, by the way."

"Ahh, it's nothin', cousin," The buff, orange-furred vendor brought his arms up behind his head and grinned back at me. "I'm just glad to help!"

Rose and I gave our friends a quick wave goodbye before we turned away from the jewelry tent and began to stroll through the crowds again, our backpacks shifting and our trial amulets jostling with each and every step we took. The Ninetales sighed happily, leaning her head against my shoulder as we walked, and I held her hand a little bit tighter, the sound of Erin and the Arcanine's conversation rising above the rest of the chatter.

"So you're lookin' for a gift for your parents, eh, missy?"

"Mmhm! I dunno what to pick, tho- ooh ooh ooh, you've got amethysts! Mom loves these!"

"Hah, yup! Funny story actually, I met a girl who wanted to pretty up her trial amulet..."

* * *

Despite the Arcanine's directions, the memorial was a little more than 'just south' – Rose and I had made our way down the parking lot until it gave way to a main street, the hustle and bustle of the swap meet getting further and further away as we ambled onto the sidewalk. After crossing over a small bridge and walking for a few more minutes, we spotted a long, one-story building rising up near the shoreline, its stylish concave roof standing out from the otherwise mundane neighborhoods. Some cars and even a large bus were parked nearby, and Rose hummed to herself as we drew closer and closer, a faintly-salty breeze drifting in from the cove.

"That took a little longer than I thought..." The Ninetales reached up to try and comb a few tangles out of her headfur, her ponytail, hoodie and skirt all ruffling ever-so-slightly in the wind. "We'd should text Cyan and Erin to let them know."

"Already on it," I replied without missing a beat, reaching into my pocket and pulling my phone out, flipping the red case open and powering it on.

The loose ends of my checkered shirt whipped about as I tapped away, and by the time I sent the message, we'd made it to the front of the building, heading for the quiet, shady check-in counter. A short, anthro Spritzee woman was leaning against the counter, looking decidedly bored, but she stood up a bit straighter when we walked up, and I gave her a quick nod in greeting.

"Two adult tickets is fifteen dollars," The fairy type chirped, and she pulled a device from her hip when Rose quickly gave her a handful of bills, printing a pair of cards and passing them over to the Ninetales. "Enjoy your visit!"

"We will, thank you!" Rose smiled warmly at the other Pokemon, her tails arching up somewhat as she pushed through the revolving gate, and I went right after her, still hanging onto my phone as the two of us headed forward. A pair of flat patches of grass flanked the walkway, the ocean lapping and burbling as wave after wave gently rolled aground, and I peered out at the boats floating around the harbor before following my partner through the door.

My pawpads nearly slipped against the tiled floor as we entered the memorial, and I raised an arm to shield myself from the sunlight glaring in from a trio of gaps in the ceiling, which lent the entire place an open-air feel. Plaques and exhibits lined the walls, but our eyes were immediately drawn to the well-tended plot of dirt right in the middle of the room, dark, rounded chunks of pumice having been arranged into a perfect square shape in the soil. A small cluster of anthro Pokemon were standing in front of the monument, and Rose and I both glanced at each other before walking up behind them.

"...e have the Momi Harbor heiau itself..." We slowed to a stop a couple steps behind the rest of the group, my ears flicking when I heard someone speak up, calm and professional. Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I raised my head to try and look higher. Rose, on the other hand, was content to simply listen, wearing an attentive expression on her muzzle. "The rest of the building is built around it in order to protect it, as well as to allow everyone to visit and pay their respects."

"Um, this is one of the oldest heiaus on the island, right?" Someone else, up at the front of the crowd, asked.

"That's right, miss! It's the second oldest, with the first being the Ruins of Conflict, north of Iki Town." As the first speaker replied, I slowly stepped around my partner, arching my back when I found a half-decent spot to stand. A rather-skinny Smeargle was the one giving the tour, his white clothes and brown argyle vest standing out from his tan fur; I blinked when I noticed his light pink headfur, which matched the color tinting his paintbrush-shaped tail. Maybe he'd dyed it himself? "However, this heiau isn't dedicated to Tapu Koko. You see, ancient Alolans enshrined this particular spot to honor the hero who saved the region ages and ages ago."

"Hero?" Yet another Pokemon asked, and I reflexively curled my fingers at the grating tone of voice. Rose walked up next to me in the meantime, gazing at the heiau, and our impromptu tour guide, with rapt attention. "You mean that Alolan Raichu guy they've got a statue of over in the city?"

Despite the shrill comment, the Smeargle laughed good-naturedly and waved his tail at the group, his ears flapping as he shook his head. "As important as Puka is to our history, no, I didn't mean him. The hero is a legendary figure in Alolan folklore, who appeared when a strange, unknown creature was attacking the region. After exploring the four main islands, undergoing trials set forth by the tribes, and gaining the favor of the tapus, he united them all and led them into a great battle against the beast, eventually defeating it and driving it back to wherever it came from. Legend says that when he first appeared, he washed up at this very spot, and thus the heiau was built!"

The group of visitors murmured to themselves at the in-depth explanation, a chorus of 'hmm's and 'interesting's and even a 'cool' echoing around the memorial building. Folding my arms against my blunted chestspike, I gave the memorial a once-over, gazing up and down at the porous stones.

"No wonder we didn't know about it before, this little thing would've been eaten alive if it was in a big city like Hau'oli," I muttered under my breath, turning to look at Rose when she hopped up a bit and raised her hand, her curiosity having been piqued.

"Sir?" The cream-furred fox said, and suddenly all eyes were on us, the whole crowd twisting around in a wave to look and see who had spoken. "You mentioned the hero explored the islands and underwent trials, but... do you mean trials like the island challenge? Or was it just a turn of phrase?"

"That's right! The island challenge is also our way of honoring the hero's journey... by sending Pokemon around the islands when they come of age, we hope to foster the same sense of unity and a better understanding of Alola as a whole. Very good observation, miss..." The Smeargle beamed at first, the question clearly earning high marks from the normal type, but he soon trailed off, his bright smile morphing into a hesitant look. Then, he smiled again, this time much more knowingly. "...oh, you're not actually part of my winter class, are you?"

The both of us recoiled at the statement, Rose's tails curling up somewhat as a blush flared onto her cheeks, and I brought a fist to my muzzle and coughed awkwardly, glancing up at the sky through the memorial's open roof. The tan-furred beagle chuckled at our reaction, focusing back on the rest of his class when they, too, started to snicker among themselves.

"Well, I was about finished with the lecture anyway, so I suppose it's alright. Why don't you all take a quick break, and then we can meet up over near the gate in a few minutes or so?" The not-tour guide slipped his hands into his pants pockets, nodding professionally.

The group of Pokemon seemed to perk up as soon as their teacher had finished speaking, and in the span of a couple seconds, they had almost completely dispersed, some of them wandering to check out the other exhibits, while quite a few others were happily marching back outside. The awkwardness of the situation quickly faded, and I let my head drop back down, letting go of a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. Rose relaxed as well, clasping her hands to her breasts and sighing as her nervousness drained away. We both turned our attention to the Smeargle, however, when he padded over to us, his footpaws making light taps against the slippery tiles.

"My apologies for putting you on the spot like that. I knew you weren't students, I hadn't seen you at all during the elective, but as soon as I saw your trial amulets, I understood." He gestured at my side, and I stole a brief peek at the aforementioned amulet, still hanging snugly from my backpack's strap. "You thought I was working here, I assume?"

"Yeah, pretty much," I replied, my pawspikes bumping against my aura tassels as I brushed them back behind my shoulders. "Someone over at the swap meet pointed us here, so we didn't know there was going to be a field trip going on, hah!"

"It was a very interesting lecture, though, so I'm glad we got here when we did," Rose added thoughtfully, still looking rather bashful, and she glanced around the building, her ponytail of headfur swinging from side to side as she continued. "I didn't realize there was so much history here... I hadn't heard about that story of the hero and the beast at all before, so it's felt nice to hear about it, now that we're finally going on our own island challenge."

"Good! Alolan history is my study of choice, and hearing something like that is exactly why I chose to teach it," The normal type clapped his hands together, looking quite pleased. "It's why Kukui and kahuna Hala send new challengers to me as well. How lucky, to meet up with you both here first!"

"Send new challengers to..." I parroted, an eyebrow quirking upward when the words fully sunk in, and I stared at the Smeargle as he smoothed out the side-part of his pink headfur, the oddly-shiny locks falling over his floppy ears. "Wait, what?"

"Heeeey, Bill, Rose! We made it, heeheehee!" The three of us jolted as a familiar, bubbly voice rang out through the memorial, even managing to startle – and annoy, judging from the looks I saw out of the corner of my vision – some of the other students. Spinning on our heels, Rose and I both smiled when we saw Erin push into the room, with Cyan stepping up just behind her. My gaze briefly snapped towards the small necklace the pink mink was carrying with her, a plain purple amethyst hanging from a thin chain.

"Thanks for lettin' me know it wasn't as close as th'guy said it was," Cyan said, stroking his mustache as he walked up to me. I gave him another thumbs-up, but the blue-furred sea lion chose that moment to notice who we were speaking with. "Eh? Are you a tour guide or somethin'?"

"Greetings! And no, but you're not the first Pokemon to think so today!" The Smeargle smiled amicably, bringing a hand up to give us a two-fingered salute. "Captain Ilima here, at your service!"

The mention of his name was enough to get the gears in my head turning, and I took a deep breath in realization, adjusting the fit of my jeans when my tail started to wag even harder. "So that's what you meant. The professor did mention you were a teacher at Alola Uni, but... heh, I didn't think that you were around our age."

"Ooooh, you're the one who's gonna give us our first trial? Cool!" Erin cheered, her short tail wiggling as she sized up the normal type.

"I am! And-" Ilima nodded at the Mienshao with a cheerful smile, only to start when a short and stocky Croagunk girl tapped his shoulder. He turned just in time to watch her point at her wristwatch, and he straightened up a bit, focusing back on the four of us even as she walked away. "And I'm afraid that it's time for me to continue class. I'm sorry I can't spare more time to talk, but I'd like to at least get your names before I go. Who are you all?"

Rose smiled sweetly when the Smeargle offered us a hand, and she gladly took it and shook, a warm sparkle playing in her ruby red eyes as she looked to me. My muzzle curled into a smile at the sight, and I also shook Ilima's hand, letting the Ninetales speak up for me in the meantime. "My name is Rose, and this is my partner, Bill. It was a pleasure to meet you, captain Ilima!"

"And I'm Erin and he's Cyan!" Erin bounced up and down a few times, grabbing at Ilima with both hands and shaking vigorously enough to make him steady himself. He turned to Cyan afterward, smiling and nodding, and the Samurott gave him a slightly-skeptical look... but then snorted, smiled and shook his hand once, firmly, in sharp contrast to his girlfriend.

"For a captain, y'don't seem like th'battlin' type. This trial o'yours better not be some kind o' battlin' quiz or somethin'!" The water type remarked, scratching at his cargo pants a bit as he stepped out of the other Pokemon's path.

"Hmm, that's my secret to keep until the time comes," Ilima replied smoothly, twisting around to give us another salute as he strolled towards the doors. "Again, my apologies for leaving so abruptly like this! Once you all get to Kekona City, head to the campus and we can set up a meeting, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan. See you later!" I called back, returning the captain's salute with a wave of my own, and I watched him stride down the path a bit, beckoning the various Pokemon milling about to group up with him.

An easy, respectful silence settled over the memorial building again, only muddled by the wind whooshing past the gaps in the ceiling, and I stretched my arms up, arching my back and gasping when I felt it crick. Rose sighed gently, dropping her arms and smoothing out her skirt somewhat, and our two younger teammates eventually turned towards us, Erin rocking back and forth on her heels while Cyan stared at the heiau nearby.

"Is that supposed t'be th'monument?" I glanced over at the water type, his usual gruffness giving way to unabashed confusion as he eyed the pumice stones sitting quietly in the dirt. "It's... it's jus' a bunch o'rocks!"

"Cyan! It's a important bit of Alolan culture," Rose chided him, walking up to the edge of the plot of dirt and stopping just in front of its plaque, her nine fluffy tails waving all the while. "Besides, you didn't get to hear the story behind it that Ilima told his class earlier... I think you of all Pokemon would be interested in it the most, hehehe."

"Yeah, you'd probably get a good kick out of it," I agreed, tugging at my shirt and backpack before gazing around the building again, tracing a line between all of the plaques set up in front of each of the displays hanging from the walls. "But now that we're all here, let's take a look around!"

* * *

Beams of moonlight shined in through the balcony door, passing over a modest dining table, replete with chairs and decorations, before hitting the smooth, wooden door at the opposite wall, a silvery glow filling the otherwise dimly-lit hotel room. The light flickered here and there, briefly revealing a small pile of clothes haphazardly piled atop one of the seats, wrinkles lining the stylized skull printed on the jet-black shirt. The only other light in the room came from the direction of the bed, thanks to the naked, purple-scaled Arbok sprawled out on the ruffled sheets. In one hand, he clutched his phone, his grip shaky as he held it up to his head, and in his other hand...

"Shhhhit...! Aaahgh..." The cobra groaned out, legs spread and chest heaving as he stroked his hemipenis, pre dripping down both of the twitching shafts; he stared, transfixed, at his phone's screen, pumping himself in time with the enormous, pure-white ass shaking up and down. "T-Take it all-"

As if on cue, the video's view shifted higher, showing off the rest of the voluptuous Gardevoir, her hefty tits jiggling each time she bounced on the lap of a Zoroark, who gladly humped her right back, his large fluffy ballsack smacking against her buttcheeks. The psychic type let out a silent moan when her ride's knot finally pushed into her, their movements suddenly stopping, and the Arbok jerked off as fast as he could, feeling his own orgasm draw near.

"Fffuck yeah-!" The poison type's hoodflaps opened wide as he eyed the Gardevoir's curves, his muscles tensing up, his cocks stiffening, the pressure in his loins becoming too much to bear. "Yeah-!"

"Hey, bro!" Someone else abruptly called out, and the Arbok tore his gaze away from his phone, only half-paying attention as a pair of thin-winged arms slid the glass door open, and in walked a familiar Crobat, his eyes wide and shoulders hunched. "We got a problem!"

"Ngh!" The Arbok grunted, a shudder rolling down his spine as he came, thin, stringy shots of cum launching from his cocks and splattering all over his scaly tail and midsection. He wasn't able to bask in his pleasure for long, however, as his friend hastily shoved something, flat, layered and papery, right into his face. The motion was enough to jolt the cobra out of his trance, and he dropped his arms, and his phone, down to the sheets, feeling somewhat satisfied, but also vaguely frustrated. "D-Dude... what the fuck, I was fapping...!"

"I-I know, but this is bad!" The Crobat replied with an anxious stammer, agitation written all over his face as he looked this way and that, and he shook shook... whatever he was holding, one more time, sending another rustle through the room. "Look at this, bro!"

The Arbok let out a frustrated grumble, and he snatched the wad of papers right out of the other grunt's hands, his hemipenis starting to retreat into his slit as he squinted at the newspaper. Slowly, but surely, the small-print writing came into view, and the poison type scanned over the various headlines on the front page. News about Wailmer-watchers, news about football, news about the mainland...

"What the hell're you gettin' worked up over now, dude? Nothin' here but junk news!" He sighed, leaning back against the bedframe and looking over at his friend, who had shoved his hands into his shorts' pockets, trying his best not to fidget.

"Bro, look!" The thin-winged bat repeated, hunching over to grab the top of the newspaper, and he jabbed a finger down towards the very corner of the front page.

His headflaps closing up somewhat, the Arbok shooed the other poison type away, shifting his grip on the paper to get a better look at where his friend had pointed. Narrowing his eyes, he craned his neck as he read over the tiny excerpt of a larger story:

_While many of the advertisements have still not been taken down as of yet, the Alola Surf Association has reassured everyone that the Puka Beach Challenge will still be held over this coming weekend, and not next weekend as was incorrectly printed. Surfers from all over the islands will be in attendance, competing to honor the tapus and..._

The scaly-tailed cobra stared. Then, he read the paragraph over again, right up until the marker for another page popped up. Then, he inhaled sharply, a pang of nervousness shooting through him when he realized what his friend was talking about. "Ah, shit, the surfing thing's this weekend!?"

"Wh-What are we gonna do, bro?" The Crobat turned around, starting to pace back and forth in front of the bed, moonlight shining against the membranes of his wings. "We haven't planned nothin' out or anything! The boss's gonna kill us!"

"It ain't our fault Big Sam told us it was in a couple weeks, dude! If anything he's gonna be... mad at her..." The Arbok shot back, but he faltered when his words fully sank in, the thought of what might happen to the motherly Pokemon chilling him to the bone.

"We... we can't let Big Sam down... but what're we supposed to do to mess this thing up?" The other grunt stumbled over to the table, pulling out the clothes-laden chair and slumping into it, his head sinking lower and lower as he spoke.

The conversation trailed off into an uncomfortable silence, tension hanging heavy in the air as both Pokemon stared at the floor of the hotel room, thinking hard to try and figure out what to do. The Arbok glanced down for a moment at his messy midriff, and he grabbed the sheets and pulled them over to wipe up the mess he'd made of himself. Groping around for his phone, he eventually snatched the device up and powered it back on, swiping the video from earlier away and searching through his photos. He eventually settled on a nude selfie he had taken with Samantha, the sight of her kissing his cheek helping to settle his nerves.

"Look, let's just chill tonight, alright, dude?" The purple-scaled cobra said, snapping his fingers to get the other grunt's attention. The thin-winged bat perked up somewhat, shuffling a bit to face his friend in full. "Look, all the boss wants us to do is cause trouble and do the usual stuff, right? So tomorrow we can sneak out of here and go lookin' around the place it's gonna be at."

The Crobat paused for a second or two... and then relaxed, his ears drooping somewhat. "Yeah... yeah, we can figure it out tomorrow. Thanks, bro-"

A rattle from across the room made them both jolt, and their heads snapped towards the door, the two of them tensing up again when they saw the handle turn; the door swung open, and a couple tall silhouettes walked right in, the glint of a card key catching the grunts' eyes.

"Ahh, just in time to get some sleep, right, sweetie?" One of the figures spoke, propping the door open with a suitcase before turning to look at his companion.

"Mmm, I'm just ready to go to bed, darling..." She replied sweetly, reaching out and flipping a switch.

The lamps suddenly flared to life, bathing the entire hotel room in a soft, incandescent glow – not to mention revealing the Arbok laying naked on the bed, and the Crobat sitting at the table. The pair of Pokemon gasped in shock at the scene, staring wide-eyed at the intruders, while the grunts simply stared right back, their eyes still adjusting to the sudden change in lighting.

"Wh...!?" The first Pokemon gasped out, sounding more baffled than angry. "Who are you!?"

The question was enough to shake the Arbok back to his senses, and jumped to the floor, running over to the Crobat and yanking him up from the seat with a yell. The two Pokemon stumbled backwards as the grunts hastily bolted out of the room, their footsteps pounding, pounding, pounding... until the room went completely silent once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written May 2018)
> 
> This is the first chapter to introduce some new, non-game content to Alola, which was a lot of fun to puzzle out. Momi City, as you might be able to guess, is based on Pearl City, with the ancient heiau taking the place of both the harbor itself as well as the Arizona Memorial; it felt like a fitting way to introduce some of the folklore of the islands while still making the area important historically. The swap meet, on the other hand, was pilfered from a local swap meet further up the hillside, which unfortunately closed down a few years back; thus, I ended up taking some inspiration from the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, as well.


	4. Start of A Friendly Rivalry!

Cloudless skies shined down onto the rolling, green hills, patches of trees sprouting up here and there to form miniature forests, the tall palm trunks and umbrella-shaped sweetpod branches swaying, ever-so-slightly, back and forth. A pleasantly-strong breeze blew at our backs, and a scattered flock of wild Wingull screeched as they caught the thermal and soared above our heads. Tugging my backpack tighter around my checkered shirt, I glanced over at the highway running across the valley, observing the midday traffic until my gaze reached the buildings rising up on the horizon. The western mountain range rose higher still, framing the distant city and its neighborhoods perfectly.

"Wheeeeeheeheeheahaha-!" A peal of laughter caught my attention, and I turned just in time to see Erin sprint past me, her arms spread wide and her tied fur sleeves billowing out behind her. The Mienshao's messenger bag bounced against her rump as she jogged in circles around us, leaving a long, winding trail of trampled grass in her wake. "I didn't think the rest of Route 1 was gonna be so big and open and stuff!"

"Well, between that and having the map pulled up on my phone-" I replied, patting my jeans' pocket for emphasis, then looking back at the muscular Samurott and curvy Ninetales walking just behind me. The latter cocked her head in curiosity while the former folded his arms against his tank top, and I shot both Pokemon a cheeky grin. "No chance we'll get lost today, huh?"

Cyan rolled his eyes, but smirked nonetheless, our supplies audibly shaking and rattling in his hiking pack as he stomped forward to take the lead. Rose let out a soft chuckle as well, peering over her shoulder as she padded up next to me, her creamy fur shining in the light. "Mmm, it's still amazing to me that we can see Momi, Hau'oli and Kekona all from here..."

Twisting around, I stole a quick peek back the way we'd come: the outskirts of Momi City were still visible a few miles away – I could even see the harbor's memorial if I squinted – but even further, past the forest, we had a clear view of Hau'oli City, from the skyscrapers to Ten Carat Hill. I smiled, bringing a hand up to affectionately tousle my partner's headfur, and she happily leaned into my touch, her ears flicking when I scritched behind them.

"Definitely puts it all into perspective, though, huh?" I remarked, dropping my arms to my sides when the slope suddenly got a little steeper, and Rose and I carefully eased our way down the hill, the terrain smoothing back out after a minute or two. "Melemele's the most populated island in Alola and all that jazz-"

My train of thought screeched to a halt when a series of high-pitched squeaks rang out, followed by a sharp hiss that was so loud that even Cyan and Erin stopped in their tracks. Rose tensed up at the strange sound, her ponytail swishing from side to side as she searched for the source of the noise, and I scanned across the field, furrowing my brow when I spotted a rustling clump of ankle-high grass. The shaking rapidly moved down the next slope over, and I dug my footpaws into the dirt when I realized it was heading right for me, the squeaks and hisses getting louder and louder.

Before I could speak up, however a tiny, yellow blur pounced out of the brush, flying high into the air and colliding with stomach; I lurched forward somewhat when the air left my lungs, reflexively stepping sideways in a late attempt to dodge. Not a second later, a long, brown Yungoos jumped out from the tall grass, and I flinched as the normal type – which looked surprised by our presence – soar right past my muzzle. The feral mongoose landed with a thump and darted right back into the thicket, still hissing angrily even as it made its escape.

"Oh gosh-!" Rose gasped, her ruby red eyes going as wide as saucers as she watched the ordeal play out, and she quickly stepped forward, making sure that the wild Yungoos was actually gone while I steadied myself. Cyan and Erin jogged back over to us in the meantime, just as surprised as we were. "Are you okay, Bill?"

"Yea-aah-! Erk, yeah, yeah, I'm alright," I wheezed, coughing in-between a few deep breaths as I slowly stood back up, my arms still tightly tucked around my stomach. My tail wagged when I felt the other wild Pokemon fidget, and I glanced down at my torso, blinking at the tiny rodent clinging to my fur. "Geez, this little guy really winded me good."

"Awww, it's a baby Pichu!" Erin cooed, squatting down to look at said Pokemon, who slowly poked his own head up and made a tentative squeak. I furrowed my brow when I felt something smooth rub against my navel... specifically, a red bandanna tied around the electric type's neck, which matched the color of its cheeks.

"Hm, is he someone's pet or somethin'?" Cyan seemed to notice too, pinching one of the tied ends of the makeshift collar between his thumb and forefinger. The Pichu skittered up my chest at the feeling, swatting its tiny tail against the Samurott's hand to try and shoo him away.

"Iooooleee! C'mon, Iole! Where'd you go runnin' off to, buddy?"

As if on cue, a boyish and unmistakably Alolan voice drifted past; the rodent's pointy ears perked straight up at the sound, and it let out a long 'Piiiiii!' before clambering onto my head, pressing its stubby paws against my nose and blunted chestspike along the way. Soon enough, a figure crested the very next hill, slowing to a stop and staring when he got to the top of the mound. Then, he raised a fist, stuck his thumb and little finger out, and waved a shaka, his large, lightning-bolt-tipped tail whipping this way and that.

"Oh, there you are! So you were making some new friends!" The anthro, orange-furred, yellow-cheeked mouse called out before jogging down the incline, and I hunched my shoulders when I felt the wild Pichu hop up and down between my ears. "Heeey, down there! Alooooooola!"

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! Start of A Friendly Rivalry!**

* * *

"Man, that's what happened? Sorry about that! When I heard him squeakin', I thought he was just gettin' excited about something, you know?"

I took a deep breath, shifting somewhat in my portable chair as I eyed the Alolan Raichu sitting across from us, the wild Pichu happily sitting in his lap and following the tip of his long, twitching tail. We had set up a hasty, makeshift campsite after he had closed the distance, and I glanced around at my teammates, feeling the wind blow past my fur. Rose was sitting in the other portable chair next to mine, while Cyan had seated himself on his hiking pack on my other side; Erin, on the other hand, was happily sitting in the grass with the newcomer, an enormous smile on her muzzle.

"Heehee, it's fine, it's fine! We're just glad he's okay, right?" The pink mink said, folding her legs and rocking from side to side, her whiskers waving in the breeze.

"Mmhm," Rose hummed in agreement, idly tugging at her hoodie's drawstrings for a moment as she gazed at the younger Pokemon. "My name's Rose, and this is my partner, Bill, and our best friends, Cyan and Erin. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir... who're you?"

"Aw, don't sir me, I'm not that old yet! My name's Hau, and this is my buddy, Iole!" The yellow-cheeked mouse replied, patting his chest with a fist, then petting the aforementioned Pichu on its head. The wild Pokemon squeaked at his touch, opening its mouth and hopping up to nibble at its owner's fingers. "Ouch- hehehe! So what're you doing out here, huh? Are you headin' to Kekona for the island challenge, too?"

Hau swung his satchel around, pulling it open and peering inside, and I immediately spotted the colorful trial amulet dangling from a pouch on the front. Glancing up, I gave the Alolan Raichu a quick once-over, going from his round ears, gray eyes, and messy mop of dark brown headfur, to his plain t-shirt and flowery-patterned shorts. Erin giggled and offered Iole a hand, and he laughed along with her when his pet gave her palm a curious sniff.

"Yeah, us too," I said, my tail wagging at their shared enthusiasm, and the electric type looked up at me, still rifling through his bags even as I continued. "We just started our island challenge a few days ago, so we're heading over to meet with Ilima and do our first trial. What about you, though? You sound like you're a local."

"That's right! Born and raised up in Iki Town!" He proudly thumped his chest in response, and I couldn't help but grin when Iole hopped up onto his hindpaws and squeaked out a 'Pi!' of his own, his pointy ears wiggling all the while.

"Oooh, where's that?" Erin asked, bouncing on her butt a couple of times as she looked around the field, her tied fur sleeves spilling over her legs.

"Huh? It's just a ways north of here, you know? Here, lemme show you-" Hau said, digging into his bag and pulling a phone out, turning it on and pulling up a map of Melemele after a second or two. Flipping the device around, he held it out to us, using the rounded tip of his lightning-bolt tail to point at the middle of the island. I leaned forward to get a better look, and sure enough, there was a glowing blue marker north of Momi City. "Riiiight up here, see? You haven't been there?"

"Nah. Well, not yet, anyway." I shrugged at the Alolan Raichu, my aura tassels swinging back and forth when I shook my head. "I've been through Momi and visited Kekona a couple times for work, but that's about as far as any of us have gone. We moved here a little over a year ago from Unova, so part of why we're taking the challenge is to see what all's here, heheheh."

"Ohh, so you're from the mainland!" The yellow-cheeked mouse raised his eyebrows at that, flipping his phone back around and setting it and his satchel aside; Iole scampered over the moment it touched the grass, the Pichu's little black tail shaking as he dove right inside of the bag. "I've never been outside of Alola myself, so that's really cool! You ever take the League Challenge there?"

"Heh, that's how all o'us met in th'first place!" Cyan suddenly chimed in, wearing a toothy smile on his muzzle and stroking his mustache proudly. I grinned back at the blue-furred sea lion, resisting the urge to lean over and tap my pawspike against his shell helmet when he continued. "An' we didn't jus' take th'League Challenge, we're champions! That's why I've been keepin' up with practicin', an' why I'm takin' th'island challenge!"

"For real? You're League Champions!?" Hau's jaw dropped, and he stared between the four of us with an absolutely-starstruck expression, reaching up and running a hand through his headfur after a little while. "No way... that's awesome! You guys must be super-strong then, huh?"

"W-Well, um... it's been a few years since then, so we're really out of practice," Rose glanced away, a modest blush rising onto her cheeks from the younger Pokemon's praise, her nine fluffy tails waving from side to side as if they had a mind of their own. Cyan snorted at her remark, and the cream-furred fox shot him a gentle look before speaking up again. "Except for you, Cyan, I know. What about you, Hau? Is there anything special that you're working towards?"

"You bet, miss Rose!" The Alolan Raichu replied, smoothing his t-shirt out a bit before puffing his chest out, brushing a few locks of his messy headfur out of his face when they drooped down. "I'm takin' the island challenge so I can get strong enough to become kahuna! That's been my dream since I was just a little kid!"

"That's so coooool!" Erin piped up, excitedly pumping her fists at the younger Pokemon's statement, and she shuffled over to Hau's Pichu-laden satchel, giving Iole a quick little scratch behind his ears. "Does that mean you just got started with your island challenge too?"

"Yup! I wanted to start earlier since I turned eighteen last month, but Tutu wanted me to spend the holidays with everyone at home, you know?" He replied, gesturing up and down with his hands, as if he was weighing his options... only to jolt in surprise when Erin burst into a peal of laughter loud enough to startle a flock of wild Pikipek out of the tall grass.

"Pffpfheeheehee, Tutu? Who's that?" The fighting type hastily tried to calm herself down after voicing the question, her breathing turning slightly shaky as she held in her giggles. Despite myself, I felt the corners of my muzzle curl upwards, and out of the corner of my vision, I noticed Rose smiling warmly and Cyan furrowing his brow at the bit of local lingo.

"That's my grandpa, hehehe!" Hau brought his hands up behind his head, smiling widely at us, but his expression quickly changed into one of realization, and he leaned forward in anticipation, his round ears and lightning-tipped tail twitching all the while. "Actually, wait a minute! If we're all gettin' started on our island challenges, why don't we have a battle to celebrate meetin' each other? That's what Pokemon League challengers are supposed to do, right?"

We all blinked at that, the words hanging in the air for a moment, and the wind kicked up again in the meantime, sweeping over the rolling hills and making our clothes ruffle; I preemptively brushed a few wrinkles out of my checkered shirt, while Hau scratched at his flowery shorts. Leaning back in my chair, I craned my neck and gazed into the clear blue skies, a strange, but familiar flicker running through my nerves as I mulled the Alolan Raichu's suggestion over.

"Man." I wasn't completely sure how long I'd been staring when I finally answered, my aura tassels slipping in front of my shoulders when I glanced back at the yellow-cheeked mouse. "Heh, it's been a long time since anyone asked us that."

"Hell yeah, I'm up for it if you are! Aside from a couple o'sparrin' sessions with th'boss at th'gym, I've been itchin' for th'chance t'have a real battle!" Cyan answered without a second thought, hopping up from his hiking pack and slapping his fan-shaped tail against his cargo pants, sunlight glinting off of his shell helmet and armguards. Hau stood up and dusted himself off soon afterward, walking up to the Samurott with an easygoing twinkle in his eyes.

"Why don't we take a proper break and have some lunch, then?" Rose thought aloud, her ponytail of headfur waving in the breeze as she scooted forward in her seat, clasping her hands together atop her skirt and looking from Hau and Cyan, to Erin, and then to me. "We're far enough along that we should make it to Kekona City before sunset, so there should be enough time for you two to battle and then eat afterward. How does that sound?"

"For sure! This way we can work up a good appetite, hehe!" Hau nodded enthusiastically, looking around the gentle slope, then heading out towards a flatter, open stretch of grass a short ways away, ducking his head somewhat when the wind blew right into his face. Iole poked his head up from the Alolan Raichu's satchel, unsure of where his owner was going, but the wild Pichu darted back into the bag when Cyan cracked his knuckles, a determined look crossing the water type's muzzle.

A sudden rumbling in my stomach shook me back to my senses, and I glanced down at my torsofur, my tail wagging once as the faint, gurgling noise drifted past my ears. Briefly scratching at my aura tassels, I hopped up from my portable chair, nudging my teammate's side as I ambled over to his hiking pack. His eyes flicked my way, and I gave him a sheepish smile, thumbing towards the hefty, rectangular bag. "So, er, where do you keep the cooler again?"

* * *

A few minutes later, we had set ourselves up with a simple meal of cold, leftover fried fish, reheated after Rose had spat a couple mouthfuls of embers into the cooler, the nevermelt ice-layered plastic still frigid to the touch. Chomping into one of the battered cuts of 'karp, I glanced over at Rose and Erin, who had rearranged their seats to get a better view of the open field in front of us; Iole still sat in his owner's satchel, which Erin had dragged over to the hiking pack. Cyan and Hau had walked some yards away from where we had set up camp, their clothes and tails both whipping in the wind as they walked over to opposite ends of the tall grass.

"So how do you wanna do this, huh?" The Alolan Raichu called out, raising his voice above the breeze in order to make sure our younger teammate could hear him. "Should we keep battling until one of us gets the first hit in? Or do you wanna go all out?"

"It isn't good practice unless you're goin' all out!" Cyan yelled back, sunlight gleaming off of his seamitars as he drew them from his armguards, clasped them together, and brought them up near his side. The blue-furred sea lion took a step back afterward, turning his ankles ever-so-slightly as he took a ready stance, wearing a toothy smile on his muzzle. "Bah, You have th'type advantage anyway, an' I still bet I could beat you!"

"Hahaha, we'll see about that! I've been trainin' with Tutu for a long time now, after all!" Hau pumped his fists excitedly, his lightning-tipped tail swinging around in circles behind him.

As the two of them traded remarks to hype themselves up, I leaned back in my seat, chuckling under my breath as I licked a few crumbs off of my fingers. "Heh, they're getting pretty into it, aren't they? Been a while since I saw Cyan get this excited about... well, anything!"

"Well, he did say he was hoping to meet up with other island challengers, hehe," Rose chuckled to herself, her nine fluffy tails spreading out against the back of her chair, and I stole a quick glance at her thighs when she crossed her legs. "Once we meet with Ilima again, we'll all have to start training to get back in shape, won't we? Mmm."

"Depends on what he's got for us to do, I guess?" I shrugged at the Ninetales, leaning over and reaching for the leftovers even as I spoke, my aura tassels slipping in front of my shoulders from the motion. Picking up another slice of fried Magikarp, I looked over at my partner and nodded, smiling confidently. "But we can cross that bridge when we get to it."

Rose smiled warmly in response, but before either of us could speak, we heard Cyan let out a gruff grunt above the wind and shaking grass. Erin cheered them on with a whoop and a clap, and I scooted back and settled comfortably into my seat, contentedly basking in the warm sun and crisp January breeze. Turning back around to face the 'battlefield', the three of us scooted closer together, anticipation filling the air as the two younger Pokemon got ready to spar.

Soon enough, Hau hopped up to the tips of his footpaws and waved at our teammate to get his attention, pressing his other hand against the hem of his shirt to keep it from flapping about. "Alright, I'm ready whenever you are!"

The Samurott nodded brusquely, bowing his head a bit and narrowing his eyes, the horn on his shell helmet aimed right at the Alolan Raichu – Hau, on the other hand, just bent his knees and raised his fists, his face knit in concentration and his tail whipping this way and that. For just a brief moment, the rolling hills were completely silent, save for the air whistling past our ears, sending a rustle through the tall grass and distant trees.

Then, without warning, Cyan burst into a jog, his fan-shaped tail thumping against his cargo pants as he dashed across the field, raising his seamitars and pointing them forward as he readied himself to strike. Hau jumped in surprise, his messy headfur drooping in front of his face, but he calmed down just as quickly, grinning excitedly before jumping higher into the air and letting loose with a blast of electricity. The mouse's yellow cheeks pulsed with power, and the lightning formed a jagged arch in the sky before hurtling towards the ground.

"Shit-!" The blue-furred sea lion swore loudly as he watched the wave of shocking energy go high, kicking to the side a split-second before the attack slammed right into where he'd been running, leaving a visible scorch mark on impact.

Rolling a few feet away, Cyan hastily picked himself back up – keeping his eyes firmly trained on the electric type even as he started to circle around him instead – and he reared his head back, then spat a small water gun at him instead. Hau hopped away from the spray, flinching as it passed mere inches away from his face, and then he shook his head, brushing a few locks of his headfur out from in front of his face afterward.

"Missed me!" He taunted, tightening his fists and charging right at the Samurott, swinging his arms forward to try and land a light double-punch. The Samurott easily sidestepped out of the way, but when he tried to return the blow, Hau jumped up into the air again, hopping right over the shell blades and landing back in the grass. "Missed me agai-egh-!"

A heavy wheeze escaped him when Cyan quickly rammed his knee into his stomach, and I felt myself wince when I saw the mouse stumble backwards and double over, wrapping his arms around his shirt. He took a moment to catch his breath before looking up at his foe... and his eyes widened when he saw the water type lunge at him, shell blades raised high. He gasped and jumped away just in the nick of time, but the other Pokemon followed up with a jab with his helmet's horn. The first attack seemed to help Hau get his bearings back, though, as he leaped into the air and somersaulted, a faint, gray glow surrounding his body.

"Hahaaaaa, yes! Now that's more like it!" He shouted exuberantly, his large tail curving underneath him, and he landed on the lightning-bolt-shaped tip with practiced ease, carefully balancing on both footpaws as he hovered just a foot or two above the grass. After making sure he wasn't going to fall over, he spoke up again, his cheeks glowing brighter with each passing moment. "But I betcha can't hit me if you can't catch me, hehe!"

With that, the Alolan Raichu hunched low and sent out another blast of electricity, a thunderbolt erupting from his body with a flash of light and shooting straight forward. Cyan dove for the ground, hugging the brush as the lightning passed over him, but when he picked himself up, Hau speedily surfed past him, knocking into his shoulder and sending him spinning back into the grass. The blue-furred sea lion clutched his arm with a growl of pain, then stood up and gave chase, the two of them cutting a swath around the field as they traded thunderbolts and water guns.

"Yeaaaah, get 'em!" I glanced away from the battle when Erin piped up, my muzzle curling into a cheeky grin when I saw the Mienshao throw a couple playful punches at the air. Iole fidgeted in his owner's satchel all the while, mirroring the younger Pokemon's movements. "I thought Cyan had him!"

"Sure you're not biased because you two are together and all?" I joked, wiggling my eyebrows at the pink mink, who stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at me in return.

"Nuh-uh! I didn't think Hau would start, heeheehee, start flying around like that!" She started giggling halfway through her reply, rocking back and forth atop her boyfriend's hiking pack.

"I remember reading about that before we moved, how the wild and anthro Raichu that live in Alola are part-psychic type. I'd never asked anyone about it because I didn't want to be impolite," Rose said, bending over somewhat to pet Iole, her ponytail of headfur falling down her shoulder as the little Pichu let out a happy squeal. She looked back up at Erin and I afterward, nodding at us both before focusing back on the battle with a curious expression. "It seems like Hau has him on the ropes now, though, doesn't it? He must practice this a lot, to be able to hover so well!"

I followed my partner's gaze, turning back towards the field and watching as Cyan danced left and right, dodging bolt after bolt of lightning, leaving a trail of charred grass in his wake. Hau sailed across the field, zigzagging this way and that to keep the Samurott off his trail, and I furrowed my brow when I noticed the strain on the electric type's face. "I think it might be harder than it looks..."

The Alolan Raichu sped across the hill, occasionally glancing over his shoulder as he weaved between a couple strong sprays of water, his own thunderbolts becoming less frequent the longer things went on. Cyan still doggedly gave chase, his fan-shaped tail slapping against his cargo pants, but after a few more seconds of avoiding blasts of electricity and spitting water guns, he slowed to a stop, his chest visibly heaving.

Hau hovered a little further away, but when he noticed the water type wasn't following him, he twisted his hips and spun around to face the blue-furred sea lion, his knees bent and fists curled as he tried to stay balanced atop his lightning-bolt tail. The wind whistled loudly as both Pokemon stared each other down, waiting for the other to move first. I could feel the tension hanging heavy in the air, almost as electric as the yellow-cheeked mouse himself; Rose was sitting at the edge of her chair, and even Erin had quieted down, if only a little bit.

The aforementioned mouse was the first one to run out of patience: with a loud yell, he pulled his arms back and hovered just a little bit higher, his cheeks and tail both sparking dangerously as he charged up another thunderbolt. A dull rumbling noise emanated from the younger Pokemon's figure, his t-shirt and shorts whipping this way and that as the psychic energy surrounding him got stronger, but Cyan simply stood in place, his held held high and his seamitars held low.

A split-second later, a massive blast of lightning launched out from Hau's form, the sky growing ever-so-slightly darker as the wave of electricity shot high above him. Cyan's head snapped upward to follow the huge, uneven surge of energy, and when it reached its peak and began hurtling straight at him, he waited, waited, waited...

...and then pounced forward, narrowly avoiding the attack as it slammed into the grass where he had been standing. The Samurott disappeared into the tall grass, his helmet and his tail poking up from the greenery – but before he could even get up, the gray glow around the thunderbolt pulsed, and with a piercing, crashing clap, it exploded into a series of smaller bolts that rained down onto the field.

"What th-grgrarARAGH-!?" Cyan cried out when one of the wayward blasts found its mark, and I heard Rose let out a worried gasp when the flash of energy slammed into our teammate's back, his helmet visibly jerking this way and that as he spasmed from the electrical current.

Just as quickly as the attack had come, however, the hail of thunder abruptly stopped, silence falling over the battlefield again as the last of the bolts scored the ground. I leaned forward to try and get a better look at Cyan, who was still coughing and shuddering on the ground as he rode out the aftereffects of the sheer shock. From across the rolling hill, Hau wobbled from atop his tail, his psychic power finally dissipating as he tried, yet again, to catch his breath.

"Phew... knew I'd- haah, knew I'd getcha with that one," The Alolan Raichu exhaled, hands on knees, and he hovered closer to the grass, making a move to hop down – and then paused, shielding his eyes from a sudden glare of sunlight. "H-Huh...?"

Cyan had raised one of his seamitars, digging the tip of the blade into the dirt to steady himself as he slowly, but surely, pushed himself up, getting to his footpaws and wiping crumbs of soil from his tank top. Hau just stared in disbelief for a moment as the water type gave himself a once-over, checking to make sure his limbs were working properly, but when he took a step forward, the yellow-cheeked mouse awkwardly swiveled around, nearly tumbling backwards as he started to hover away.

It was too little, too late. The Samurott broke into a full-on sprint, his twin swords shining with wavy blue energy as he brought them close to his hips again, set and ready to counterattack. Hau's balance faltered as he tried to hover across the field faster, the exhaustion from his last attack taking its toll on him. Soon enough, his opponent managed to catch up with him, staying hot on his tail for a second or two before swinging his seamitars upward. The Alolan Raichu toppled from his perch, his jaw dropping open when the blades connected with his back, and Cyan carried the momentum forward with a jump, streaks of water glittering in the air.

Rose, Erin, Iole and I watched the them soar a short ways above the trees, and then, with a quick flick of his wrists, Cyan spun his blades around just in time to slam the flat ends into Hau's stomach instead. The strength of the blow sent the younger Pokemon careening back to earth, and he meteored into a patch of scorched brush, letting out a long, drawn-out groan. Our teammate landed a few feet away, water streaming from his seamitars the whole way down.

"Hrgh- hmph..." The blue-furred sea lion grunted, shooting the dazed mouse a toothy smile as he sheathed his weapons, clutching achingly at his sides afterward. "I-It'll take more than a li'l surprise attack like that t'knock me out!"

I let go of a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding, smiling confidently as Cyan finished his little speech. Glancing sideways, I saw Rose lean back in her chair, her worry and concern fading from her face as our teammate offered Hau a hand, and Erin hopped up from her seat with a loud, whooping, cheer. Folding my arms against my blunted chestspike, I looked over at our forgotten lunch as the two fighters made a beeline for the nevermelt cooler. "Yeah... this fight's pretty much over."

* * *

"Man, I still can't believe that psy-bolt didn't get you! Tutu's the only other Pokemon I know who can handle it, and he usually totally dodges it anyway!"

Hau's voice echoed faintly as the five of us strolled down the hotel hallway, our bags jostling and rustling and the carpet softly brushing under our footpaws with every step we took. Despite the earlier battle, the Alolan Raichu seemed no worse for wear, and he chuckled when Iole – who happily sat between his owner's round ears – yanked at his messy headfur.

"Heh, it was a damn good trick, I'll give y'that," Cyan snorted at the comment, but he offered the other Pokemon an approving smirk nonetheless, scratching at his mustache as he continued. "An' it was good practice t'boot!"

"Yeah, well, next time I'll win for sure! And there's gonna be a next time!" The yellow-cheeked mouse replied, bringing his hands up behind his head and beaming.

I grinned at the two of them chatting away, but stopped when I felt Rose reach out and tug at my sleeve. Twisting around, I perked up when I saw the Ninetales pointing at a nearby door, digging into her pocket and pulling out a small, plastic card, and Cyan, Erin and Hau walked a little further away before realizing we had stopped. As they turned around to check on us, my partner spoke up, her voice ringing clearly down the passage. "It looks like this is our room. Hau, will you be okay by yourself?"

"Hehe, don't worry about me! I'll be fine," Hau said, still smiling wide as he and Iole watched us gather together, his lightning-tipped tail swishing from side to side. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Have a good one!" Erin chirped as we waved goodbye, and as the electric type spun around to continue searching for his own room, Rose tapped the card key against the doorknob, a beep sounding from the tiny screen above it. With a twist of the handle, the door swung open, and I followed after the cream-furred fox as she gingerly stepped inside.

Warm evening light filled the little hotel room, shining in through the window and casting a pleasant, orange glow onto the walls; the place was neatly decorated, with two large beds separated by a lamp-laden side table, and a desk and television sitting at the opposite end. An AC unit rumbled to life at the base of the window curtains, and I ambled over to them, pulling them back to let the sunset in. A blast of air from the vent made the loose ends of my checkered shirt flap, and I let out a sigh and relaxed, shrugging a few times to let my backpack drop to the floor.

"Well, today was an eventful day," I said, peeking over my shoulder to watch as Cyan, Erin, and Rose dropped their bags and backpacks onto the beds, the latter padding up next to me afterward. My tail started to wag when she wrapped an arm around my waist, and together we gazed out at the suburbs of Kekona City, trees and the occasional flat field separating the bunches of rooftops. "Pretty place."

"Yeah... and we've got such a lovely view of the mountains, too, don't we?" The Ninetales hummed softly, and I turned a bit to look at the aforementioned mountain range, rising just north of the neighborhoods, scars of vividly-red soil running down the otherwise greenish-brown ridges. I stared for a moment longer, then shook my head, my aura tassels bumping against each other.

"Seems like no matter where you live here, there's something interesting to see, huh?" I flashed my partner a cheeky grin before spinning around and hopping up onto the bed near the window, the mattress bouncing somewhat as I splayed my arms and legs out over the sheets. Rose giggled at that, the air blowing against her nine fluffy tails as she turned around as well. "I guess now we can just take it easy until we feel like getting dinner. For how much I was hemming and hawing about the island challenge last year, it's been kind of a cinch so far, eheheh."

"Well, hopefully that won't change once we find out what our first trial is supposed to be-" The Ninetales nodded, clasping her hands to her hoodie – but before she could finish her sentence, a sharp yelp sounded through the room, making us both jolt in surprise.

"Hey, Erin! What're you tryin' t'do now?" I glanced over at Cyan, who was sitting on the side of the bed and leaning back as Erin pressed a hand against his chest, a pink spray-potion held at the ready in her other hand. "I feel fine! Y'had Hau an' I eat a couple o'oran berries with lunch, remember?"

"Uh-uh! That shock you had looked reeeeally nasty, so I wanna make extra-extra sure you're okay, okay?" The Mienshao replied, leaning forward to stare her boyfriend right in the eye, her tied fur sleeves dangling from her wrists as she held her fingers on his tank top. The Samurott stared right back at her for a few moments... and then sat up a bit straighter with a mild grumble, spreading his legs and reaching for his shell helmet.

"Uuuh, fine..." With a quick tug, Cyan popped his headgear off, setting it down on the floor before grabbing at the neck of his shirt. As the blue-furred sea lion disrobed, I rolled onto my side and chuckled, watching as his girlfriend began dutifully scanning over his lighter-blue underbelly, spraying spots here and there every so often with the potion.

"Well, you were hoping to find some Pokemon to battle with, so you probably should have been expecting this from the get-go," I remarked, idly tapping my footpaws together as I gestured at the two younger Pokemon with a lazy wave. Cyan craned his neck to peer over Erin's shoulder at me, his ears twitching as he scratched at his short-cut headfur.

"I guess. But I wasn't lyin' when I said it was good practice! If Hau's really just startin' on his island challenge like we are, I hope we meet up with more challengers soon!" The water type replied, lightly swatting his fan-shaped tail against the sheets for emphasis. When Erin stepped to his other side and sprayed some potion onto his shoulder, however, he tensed up and hissed sharply. "Agh!"

"I told you!" The pink mink said matter-of-factly, and she crawled up onto the bed and knelt behind her boyfriend, scrunching her nose somewhat as she gazed all up and down his back. "Oof, you really did get hurt! No burns or anything, but there's some really really nasty scrapes!"

"C'mon, Erin, scrapes aren't anythin' t'get worked up about! They'll heal up in th'shower an' by tomorrow they'll be all g- owww!" Cyan found himself interrupted when Erin sprayed another round of potion onto another part of his back, and he reflexively swung around to grab at his side, his abs visibly tightening as he sat stock-still. My ears flicked when I heard the sound of footsteps, followed by Rose walking around and easing herself down onto the corner of our bed, combing her fingers through her headfur's sidelocks.

"At least you didn't get too hurt, Cyan. I was getting worried near the end of things there," The cream-furred fox said, letting her hands drop to her skirt and twiddling her thumbs. Straightening one of my legs, I nudged her hip with a footpaw, and she smiled warmly at me, poking one of my pawpads in return. "We'll all need to be at our best for our first trial. Now that we've reached Kekona, I'm kind of wondering what Ilima will setting up for us..."

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it. We should probably meet with him as soon as we can, so we'll need to get an early start tomorrow." I pushed up into a sit as well, swinging my legs over and taking a deep breath, the chilly hotel room air settling over my torsofur.

"There we go, I think I found all the spots on your back!" Rose and I both glanced back towards Erin when she spoke, waddling back around and hopping back down to the floor, and then she reached for the hem of her boyfriend's pants. "Now it's time for you to take these off!"

"H-huh!? E-Erin!" Cyan stammered at the fighting type's statement, a hot, red blush flaring onto his blue-furred cheeksas she pulled at his belt buckle, and he scooted back a short ways to try and shake her off. "Y-You want t'do that now!?"

"Ooh, what do you think I wanna do? Heeheehee!" Erin burst into a round of giggles, rocking back and forth on her heels and shaking the pink spray-potion around in the air, her short tail whipping around as she spoke in a singsong tone of voice. "Besides, what if your legs are achy or scraped up or something, huh? You know that I gotta check all over youuuuuuuu!"

The room went quiet as the Samurott and Mienshao stared each other down, the former still blushing strongly while the latter wore a knowing smile on her muzzle; despite myself, I couldn't help but lean forward, able to feel my teammate's embarrassment even from where I was sitting. A second passed, then two, then three. Then, Cyan rolled his eyes and looked down at his lap, bringing his arms around to shoo his girlfriend away from his crotch.

"F-Fine..." Erin happily clapped her hands together when the blue-furred sea lion nodded. "Just d-don't drag this out for hours an' hours or anythin', a-alright?"

As Cyan slowly tugged his pants down his hips and Erin squatted down between his muscular legs, I leaned back and relaxed, my tail thumping against the bed as the tense moment passed. Rose took a deep breath and stretched her arms above her head to calm herself down, and I stole a peek at the fire type as she did so, my heart swelling within my chest as the brilliant sunset shined against the curves of her figure. Almost immediately afterward, I felt a twitch of arousal run down my spine, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well," I dropped my voice to a slight whisper, shuffling right next to my partner and putting a hand on her thigh, my pawspike glinting faintly as I ran my thumb through her silky fur. She blinked at my touch, cocking her head with a half-curious, half-modest expression. "I think we probably won't be getting dinner anytime soon. Why don't we follow their lead and take it easy?"

Her ruby red eyes widened in understanding... and then she smiled coyly, putting her hand on top of mine with a warm laugh. "Hehehe, why not?"

* * *

A strong wind blustered against the windowpane, sending a rattle through the glass that echoed throughout the office, rising above the barely-audible scritching of a pen as it scratched against paper. A lone figure hunched over in his chair, swiveling from side to side ever-so-slightly and gazing over the list of numbers he had written down the page. Suddenly, a couple locks of his light pink headfur fell in front of his face, and he blinked, then brushed them back with a smile.

"Splendid... that class really did turn out to be one of my best," The Smeargle muttered under his breath, sitting up in his seat and setting his pen down. The fading evening light shined in through the window, illuminating the motes of dust floating throughout the room, and the tan-furred beagle let out a sigh before glancing at the monitor sitting at the side of the desk. "Now just to enter these last few grades into the system and then-"

A loud beeping abruptly rang out from the other side of the desk, startling the normal type, but he relaxed just as quickly when he spun around and noticed his phone, the red light on its base flashing repeatedly. As soon as the grating noise stopped, he reached over and snatched the receiver up, pushing it under one of his floppy ears.

"Er-hem-" He coughed once to clear his throat, then spoke. "Professor Ilima here!"

"Ilima?" A friendly, if fuzzy, voice replied. "Got a call for you here, sounds important."

"Go ahead and patch them through." The Smeargle nodded expectantly.

There was a brief pause, and then a different voice, this one much clearer, came through.

"Captain Ilima?" He furrowed his brow at the professional tone. "We've got a situation..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written July 2018)
> 
> Introducing Hau was something I debated about for a good bit, not just because of the impact of introducing a rival character but also because of how... thin, his character was in the actual S/M games. Indeed, once I decided to include him, most of this chapter ended up dedicated to expanding on what was presented originally, specifically his portrayal in the Ultra games.
> 
> He's an interesting character in theory - a grandson of a kahuna taking the island challenge, enthusiastic to prove himself but also off-put by the attention gets because of his lineage, on top of never having left Melemele before... but of course, most of that wasn't really given time to gel even in Ultra. Remedying this actually took priority over NSFW at the time of writing, and looking back on it made me realize I want to find a better balance of both parts of the story. You'll see what I mean later on down the line.


	5. Sunny Streets and Sugary Treats!

A jolt ran through my nerves when a muted shuffling rang distantly in my ears, the sounds of movement pulling me out of my slumber and making me stir, and I let out a wide, tongue-curling yawn and rolled onto my side, the covers rustling against my fur. Cool air drifted past, making me shiver slightly even as I tried to force myself to fall back asleep, and I instinctively curled up into a tight ball to try and stay warm. But before I got a chance to doze off again, I felt a pair of somethings press against my forehead, and then my eyelids were involuntarily peeled backwards, revealing a fuzzy, blurry, pink someone staring right into my face.

"Oh Biii-iiiill!" The teasing call of my name was enough to pull me completely back to reality, and I suddenly felt a surge of energy, shaking my head a bit to shoo Erin away. The slim, flat-chested Mienshao giggled as she let go of me, still chattering away all the while. "Heeheehee, c'mon, it's time to get up!"

"Mllright, ulright-" I mumbled in response, stretching out a bit before bringing my hands up to rub at my face, and I slowly sat up, gently swaying from side to side as the crusts of sleep fell from my eyes. Sunlight glared into the corner of my vision, and I briefly stole a peek out through the window, taking a moment to stare, blearily, at the pale blue sky. "Wait... what time is it...?"

"Almost eight in th'mornin'!" Dropping my arms back to my sides, I glanced around the hotel room, briefly staring at the television before noticing the muscular Samurott standing a short ways away. He shook his head, his mustache brushing back as he pulled his tank top over his head, seemingly ignoring his half-erect penis to try and get it to soften. "We're gettin' dressed an' Rose's still takin' her shower, so you're th'last one t'get up, as usual!"

I couldn't help but grin through my tiredness at that, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed and hopping to the floor, the feeling of soft carpet under my pawpads making me wiggle my footpaws somewhat. Sure enough, I could faintly hear the the faucet already running in the bathroom, and I ambled over to my backpack, unzipping one of the pockets and digging out a small travel case.

"Well, I guess I'd better catch up with her." Spinning on my heels, I nodded at Cyan and Erin, the former slipping his shell helmet on and the latter pulling her jean shorts over her hips, playfully shaking her butt around as she got dressed. Chuckling inwardly, I carefully sidled past the two younger Pokemon, giving the pink mink a tap to get her attention. "Thanks for waking me up, Erin, but next time, just give me a shake or something like you usually do?"

"Oh, I tried that at first, but you didn't even notice!" She replied cheerfully, looking back down at her wrists afterward to finish tying her fur sleeves, giving the loops a few shakes to test their snugness before continuing. "Besides, you were totally out of it! You were drooling on the pillow and being all 'bleeeeeh' and stuff. You must've been really tired last night, huh?"

I chose not to dignify that with an answer, simply shrugging at the fighting type, then turning around and making a beeline for the bathroom door, sunlight glinting off of my pawspikes as I grabbed the handle.

The carpeting gave way to damp tile as I pushed my way inside, furrowing my brow when a cloud of steam billowed over me, the faint chill in my bones fading away almost immediately. My ears flicked when I heard a gentle humming coming from the shower, and I hastily opened my travel case, briefly looking over the assorted toiletries before grabbing a bottle of soap. Carefully stepping over to the bathmat, I took a deep breath, pulling the thin, plastic curtain aside.

There stood my partner, her eyes squeezed shut and her muzzle curled into a warm smile as she lathered shampoo over her scalp; she had undone her ponytail, letting her matted, soaking headfur fall completely down her back. Bubbling suds ran down her neck and shoulders, forming wavy lines as they traveled down her fit, curvy figure, and my heart skipped a beat when the Ninetales moved her hands down to her ample breasts. Slowly, but surely, I lifted one leg up and stepped into the shower, reaching around to pull Rose into a loving snuggle, her nine fluffy tails spreading around my body.

"Need any help?" I quipped, whispering right into her ear, and she tensed up, then relaxed, leaning back into my grasp with a laugh. Reaching down, the cream-furred fox took my hands in hers, pulling them up until my palms were resting on top of her perky, soapy nipples. I couldn't help but get aroused from that, and I gladly fondled the weighty mounds, eliciting a soft sigh from her in the process. "Heheheh... sounds like you do."

"I-I wish," Rose replied, curling her fingers between mine and turning to lick my cheek, a few soap suds clinging to my face from the affectionate gesture. "You know we'd never heard the end of it, especially if you knotted me and made us wait for an extra half hour."

Her remark was enough to give me pause, and I sighed, scooting forward to I hold her tighter, my blunted chestspike rubbing against the small of her back and my sheath nestling between her round buttcheeks. "Yeah... I know. Did you tell Erin to wake me up or was that all her?"

"She woke you up? I told them to let you sleep a little longer..." The Ninetales turned around in surprise, briefly scooting underneath the showerhead to wash the soap from her headfur, and she wiped her face clean before opening her ruby red eyes, unable to hide her mild disappointment. "Mmm, I guess I can't blame them for being excited about Ilima's trial, but-"

"Heh, it's fine. I'm up and about, for better or worse," I chuckled, leaning in and planting a quick peck on my partner's lips. "We can get a quick breakfast downstairs, catch a Ryde over to the campus, and be done before noon. Nothing to worry about, right?"

"Yeah..." Rose said, an eager sparkle returning to her face. "Yeah. Let's do it!"

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! Sunny Streets and Sugary Treats!**

* * *

"What? What do you mean, he's not here?"

"Just what I said, sir..." The chubby, anthro Furfrou said, glancing up at us even as she rifled through a small mountain of papers, her chest heaving and long ears drooping as she stacked one slab of sheets on top of another. "He's not here. And he probably won't be back until after the weekend."

I stood up a bit straighter, the loose ends of my checkered shirt tugging tighter as I folded my arms against my blunted chestspike, the receptionist's droll answer echoing off of the wooden floors and plain, white walls. Cyan stared incredulously at the shaggy poodle, while Erin rocked back and forth on her heels, her short tail swishing this way and that. Rose, on the other hand, padded up next to me, anxiety written all over her face as she clasped her hands to her hoodie.

"Are you sure he's not here? We saw him the other day in Momi City... he said to come here so we could discuss our-" The Ninetales started to say, only for the receptionist to cut her off with a rather dismissive shake of her head.

"Well, he's not here right now, so you'll just have to wait!" The Furfrou snapped, but her eyes widened as soon as she realized what she'd said, and she let out a long, drawn-out groan, leaning back in her chair and letting her face fall into her hands. She stayed like that for a second, just long enough for the sting of her remark to fade, and then she sighed and looked back up, offering the four of us an apologetic look. "Uuugh, I shouldn't have done that. Look, sorry for being rude, but the spring semester starts next week, and I'm practically swimming in paperwork right now. Mister trial captain's lucky he's not here to deal with it right now, if you ask me!"

"It's fine, miss," I raised my voice a bit and I leaned in to give the normal type a reassuring nod. She stared, then raised an impatient eyebrow, and I reached up to sheepishly scratch at my aura tassels. "Do you at least know where he went? We're not actually in a hurry or anything, but..."

"Let me guess. You're starting your island challenge?" She asked, the corners of her muzzle twitching upwards when Rose, Cyan, Erin and I all turned to look at each other. "Thought so. He got a call yesterday evening and left a bit after that, said they needed help over in the resort district. Maybe it's something to do with the surfing competition going on tomorrow? They were talking about that on the news the other day.”

"Ooooh wow, a surfing competition?" Erin piped up excitedly, skipping over to the front desk and cocking her head in curiosity. "That sounds super cool, heeheehee!"

"But why th'hell would they need a trial captain to come an' help out?" Cyan stomped up behind his girlfriend and planted a hand on her shoulder, trying in vain to keep her from bouncing up and down. I glanced around the room again, then smiled when Rose scooted closer to me, a few of her tails wrapping around my waist. "Hmph, no offense, but he didn't look like th'surfin' type. Is he goin' t'give a speech or somethin'?"

"That I don't know. PR, maybe, it'd be a good look to have a trial captain hanging around," The Furfrou replied matter-of-factly, stealing a quick peek at her remaining paperwork, then focusing back on us again. "But that's really all I can tell you. If you're really that pumped to go hiking through the woods or whatever his trial's supposed to be, then your best bet's probably to go to the resort district tomorrow and see if you can find him over there."

An awkward silence fell over the lobby again, the conversation trailing off when the frazzled receptionist returned to her paperwork, grabbing a pencil and a couple sheets from the other side of the desk and shoving her tiny blue nose right into things. Dropping my arms to my sides, I casually slipped my hands into my jeans pockets and let go of a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

"Well, thanks for the help." I nodded at the poodle, who didn't even seem to be paying attention anymore as she scribbled over the papers, then swiveled around in her chair to check a computer in the back of her office. "And good luck with the start of the semester!"

She snorted under her breath, but still didn't reply, rapidly typing up what looked like an email, and without another word, I turned around and headed towards the double-doors at the other end of the room, my partner following close behind me.

A blast of air washed over us as we stepped outside, the pavement hot under our footpaws, and I scanned around the university grounds, a handful of modern-style schoolhouses surrounded by squares of grass and trees. I blinked when I noticed Cyan and Erin standing near one of said trees, and I nudged Rose's side before walking over to them, my tail lazily wagging all along the way. As we all gathered together, I furrowed my brow, trying to think of something to break the ice. A couple seconds passed, then a minute, a pleasant breeze whistling through the otherwise-empty campus.

"Well..." I finally said, only to lose my train of thought immediately afterward. As the other three looked at me, I said the first thing that popped to mind. "That sucks."

"Huh, no kiddin'," Cyan grumbled irritably, slapping his fan-shaped tail against his cargo pants in frustration before looking at Rose and I. "So what th'hell happens now?"

"I guess... we'll just have to go to the resort district tomorrow and try to find Ilima," My partner thought aloud, her ponytail of headfur waving in the wind, and she slowly craned her neck to peer up at the sky. Reaching out, I put a hand on her shoulder and looked up along with her, watching as a hazy blanket of clouds floated over the top of the mountain range.

"I knew that!" The Samurott replied with a roll of his eyes, putting his hands on his hips and stomping over to the edge of the patch of grass, then turning around and walking back over. "I meant what're we doin' today? Are we jus' goin' back to th'hotel or what?"

"Alooooooola!"

We jumped in surprise when someone else yelled out a distant greeting, but I quickly felt myself grin when I spotted a familiar, yellow-cheeked mouse jogging up from the main road, his round ears, gray eyes and local accent unmistakable. Erin was next to notice, beaming in recognition as she spun around and jumped up and down again, and Rose and Cyan looked a split-second later, the latter cracking a toothy smile. The four of us waved hello as the Alolan Raichu ran up to us, skidding to a stop with a breathless smile on his face.

"G'morning, you guys!" Hau panted, leaning over to smooth a few wrinkles out of his shorts and t-shirt. The straps of his satchel shifted somewhat, and sure enough, out popped a wild Pichu's head, his pointy ears wiggling as he took a look around. "You here to meet with mister Ilima, too? I guess we had the same idea."

"Yeah, that was the plan, anyway," I replied, the low mood briefly returning as I looked over my shoulder and thumbed towards the main office building. Hau cocked his head, leaning sideways to check where I was pointing, his sidelocks fluttering in the wind. "Sorry to be the bearers of bad news, but apparently Ilima isn't even here right now. He's been gone since yesterday evening."

"Huh!? But... then where is he?" The younger Pokemon's gray eyes widened, and then he twisted around, making Iole squeak in surprise as he stared at the surrounding schoolhouses.

"The resort district, wherever that is!" Erin answered without missing a beat, her tied fur sleeves whipping in the wind when she pumped her fists for emphasis. "The front desk lady thought he was going to some kinda surfing thingy!"

"Surfing..." Hau trailed off, furrowing his brow in thought – and then he perked up, his round ears flicking as he seemingly remembered something. "Oh, she must be talkin' about the Puka Beach Challenge! Man, I got so excited about goin' on my island challenge that I totally forgot about it!"

"Th... th'what?" Cyan's mustache shook as he spoke up, and Erin giggled as she snuck over and snaked her arms around the water type's midriff, giving him a couple quick pats.

"The Puka Beach Challenge!" The yellow-cheeked mouse said, slowly shuffling around in a half-circle to look between the four of us. We must have looked pretty confused, since he chuckled to himself before continuing, bringing his arms up behind his head. "Hehe, it's the first big surfing event of the year! Lots of local surfers'll come in from all around the islands, since it's the first chance most of 'em get to get some real practice, you know? They've been holdin' it here in Kekona City since they started buildin' it up, and that was before I was born."

"And by Puka, you mean the guy they have a statue of back home in Hau'oli? I've driven past it a lot during work," I added, my mind briefly flashing back to the bronze-cast, lei-covered monument in the beachfront district – and then to the screechy student who had brought said statue up while we were in Momi City.

"Mmm, I knew I should have brought my backpack with me. I bet the guidebook talks all about it," Rose hummed as well, her nine fluffy tails curling and uncurling nervously even as she offered Hau a warm smile.

"Naaah, it's a pretty local thing! The only reason it's in the resort district's because that's where the best beaches are, hahaha!" The Alolan Raichu smiled right back at her, but his cheerfulness gave way to an inquisitive expression. Iole clambered up onto his head in the meantime, sitting right down between his ears and settling in. "Wait... that's right, you said you've never been to Kekona City before yesterday, right? I think?"

We all paused, mulling the question over in our heads; Cyan and Erin quickly shook their heads, while an embarrassed blush flared onto Rose's cheeks, her creamy fur stained a pale red. I, on the other hand, cleared my throat, and immediately had the electric type's attention. "Er, I have a couple times, but like I said yesterday, it was during my Ryde shifts. So... not really?"

"For real?" Hau stared for just a moment longer... and then he stepped back and spread his arms wide, his face lighting up with renewed excitement. "Why don't I show you someplace cool, then, huh? I was gonna go into town after meetin' with Ilima anyway, and besides, I need to pay you guys back for sharin' your lunch with me and Iole yesterday! C'mon, let's go!"

Before any of us even had a chance to protest, the Alolan Raichu had spun on his heels and was bolting towards the road, and I stumbled back just in time to avoid getting hit by his lightning-tipped tail, my aura tassels sliding against the collar of my checkered shirt. We watched the younger Pokemon go, just for a second, and then Erin started chasing after him, bouncing up and down and letting out a cheerful laugh as she ran. Cyan dashed after her, and then Rose and I did as well, my tail wagging as I jogged alongside the curvy, cream-furred fox.

Smooth concrete quickly gave way to rough tarmac when we reached the street, turning left and heading west, and soon enough the Alola University campus had vanished from sight, replaced by the foothills of the mountains on one side and plots of farmland on the other. Clusters of houses and other buildings loomed a short distance away, however, a mess of shingled roofs and palm trees that stood tall on the near horizon. Hau continued to lead the charge, getting further and further ahead with each passing second; it almost seemed like he was just going to leave us behind, even with Erin doing her best to keep up with him.

Then, when the buildings started to come clearly into view, the yellow-cheeked mouse began to slow down, turning his head and saying something to the Mienshao as they ran in tandem. Sure enough, both Pokemon slowed down a little bit more to run alongside Cyan, and then finally, they eased into a casual, loping stroll to let Rose and I catch up, as if he had read my mind somehow. Then again, since Alolan Raichu were part-psychic type, maybe he had. The thought made me grin.

"Man, it seems like it's really quiet today," Hau muttered, more to himself than to us, his round ears flicking when Iole grabbed onto them. "I know it's early in the mornin' and everyone's probably goin' to work, but still. I hope I'm not bringin' you guys down here for nothin'."

"Aw, I'm sure it'll be okay! Where're you taking us?" Erin asked, bumping her boyfriend with her hip before playfully raising her legs a little higher to match his marching tread. Cyan snorted in response, then reached up to adjust the fit of his shell helmet, its long horn gleaming dangerously.

"To my favorite place in Kekona City, that's where!" The Alolan Raichu stifled a laugh at the pair's antics, hopping up to the very tips of his footpaws and gazing intently down the street afterward. "Tutu took me there when I was a little kid and we've gone back every visit since, hehe! It's an important part of Alolan culture, so the sooner you find out about it, the better!"

"That sounds lovely!" Rose said brightly, idly brushing at her skirt, then shuffling closer and slipping her hand into mine. I instinctively squeezed, our fingers intertwining and our arms swinging together, and my grin widened as she continued. "Part of the reason we're taking the island challenge is to learn more about Alola, so I'm sure seeing the sights around here will be fun!"

Before long, the five of us had made it past the first few neighborhoods and into Kekona City itself, and we quickly hopped onto the sidewalk when it reappeared near the slowly-widening road. My ears flicked at the muffled rumbling noises when we reached the first intersection, and I couldn't help but stare at the numerous cars exiting the highway, even as we crossed the street. Buildings sprouted up everywhere, from strip malls to restaurants to small-scale apartments, with patches of grass and trees bordering every parking lot in sight.

"Hmm... I didn't realize that Kekona was so big," Rose hummed thoughtfully when we passed some fast-food joints, their windows covered with now-hiring signs. "This feels more like back home in Hau'oli, at least if there weren't any skyscrapers."

"Ah, they've been tryin' to build this place into another Hau'oli for years now, you know?" Hau explained, gesturing at the mountains as he spoke. Craning my neck, I followed a fork in the road as it split off and led up into another few housing areas higher up, but the view was quickly swept away by another section of the strip mall. "Tutu said that's why they built all the resorts in the first place, to try and drum up more business on this side of the island- oh, here we are!"

The electric type skipped ahead again, looking both ways before stepping into the crosswalk, and I looked back over when I heard Rose and Erin gasp – and then blinked in surprise at the massive park that lay across the street. Short, freshly-trimmed grass shined green and healthy under the morning sun, with lush trees and bushes peppered here and there, as if someone had taken a lawnmower to one of the open fields from yesterday. After checking to make sure no cars or Ryde Pokemon were coming, we followed after our friend, Cyan scratching at the back of his head as we walked along.

"Seems pretty borin' t'me," The water type said as he scratched at his shell armguards. "There's gotta be more here than jus' a flat park."

"Cyan, shush-" Rose lightly scolded him in response, her nine fluffy tails curling and uncurling despite herself. "Don't be rude. I'm sure it must be important for Hau to be so invested in it."

A couple minutes later, the four of us made it to the opposite end of the park, which was empty save for a single truck parked right up against the sidewalk. The vehicle was emblazoned with red-and-white stripes, lending it a decidedly old-fashioned look, and up on top was a triangular sign labeled "Leopold's". Most importantly, though, was the Alolan Raichu striding over to the window, beckoning us to follow along with a wave of his hand.

"Heya, miss Julie!" Hau called out, hopping up onto his tiptoes as we stepped up behind him. Iole perked up when the name left his owner's lips, and the Pichu hopped up onto his stubby footpaws, his nose twitching as excitedly as a wild Pokemon's nose could. "Is that you in there?"

"Hm?" I felt my partner squeeze my hand again when a grunt sounded from inside the truck, and I squeezed right back when a scruffy, anthro Bunnelby poked her head out through the window, her short brown headfur wrapped up in a hairnet. She smiled as soon as she saw Hau and Iole, her round cheeks visibly dimpling. "Well hey there, Hau! Fancy meeting you this early in the morning!"

"Yup, hehehe!" The yellow-cheeked mouse replied with a chuckle, slipping his hands into his shorts' pockets and pulling out his wallet. Iole squeaked out a cheerful greeting of his own, his tiny little tail shaking like mad. "Could I get half a dozen, please? Just plain sugar this time."

"You got it!" The gray-furred rabbit nodded, accepting a fistful of dollars from the younger Pokemon and heading into the back of the truck. I leaned sideways to peer inside of the vehicle, watching the older lady open a cash register and stir a loudly-bubbling pot at the same time. A cloud of steam wafted out the window, carrying a deliciously-sweet scent that made my mouth water.

"Um... Hau?" Rose asked, a note of hesitation playing in her voice. "What is this?"

"Hehe, an important part of Alolan culture!" Hau said, turning around and grinning as wide as he could, looking between the four of us. "If you only moved here recently, then this is the first thing you guys should learn about!"

The confused tension in the air popped like a balloon when a wave of understanding washed over the four of us; I relaxed, my aura tassels slipping in front of my slumped shoulders, while Erin burst into a fit of giggles and Rose let out a relieved sigh. In the meantime, Cyan sniffed at the air, his brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what he was smelling.

"Hrm... dough..." The water type muttered gruffly, scratching at his mustache, and I had to resist the urge to laugh out loud at how ridiculous he sounded. After a second, he slapped his fan-shaped tail against his pants and glanced over at Hau. "An' oil? This some kind o'Alolan donut?"

"Kinda!" The Alolan Raichu nodded, but before he could explain further, miss Julie returned to the truck window, whistling a little tune to get the younger Pokemon's attention.

"Here you go, hun!" The Bunnelby said, setting a small, pink cardboard box out and casually leaning forward, her gaze briefly flicking onto Rose, Cyan, Erin and I before returning to Hau. "What brings you here today, anyway? Did you and Hala get a craving?"

"Nah, I came here all on my own. I'm finally takin' my island challenge, after all!" He replied proudly, taking the box and holding it close to his chest. He turned around to look at us afterward, Iole clambering down his arms to try and get at the box. "These are some new friends I made yesterday and they're takin' the island challenge too, so I figured I'd bring 'em down and introduce 'em to Leopold's!"

"Aahh, congrats, hun! Sounds like things are already going pretty well for you!" Miss Julie said, brushing her ears back somewhat before looking past the electric type, giving us a friendly smile and nod. "You take care of little ol' Hau while you're all on your adventures, alright?"

Hau glanced away at that, a faint blush popping up onto his orange-furred cheeks, but I stepped forward, tugging my checkered shirt tighter around my torsofur. Rose stepped up right alongside me, and I stole a peek at the cream-furred fox as I spoke, a warm smile on her muzzle. "We'll do our best, miss. Thanks for the... er, malasadas?"

"That's right, hot and fresh from the fryer!" The gray-furred rabbit wagged a finger at us, then looked at Hau and Iole, who were standing with Cyan and Erin. The Samurott and Mienshao were both eyeing the pink box hungrily, despite having barely eaten breakfast maybe half an hour ago, but it was hard to blame them. "And Hau, when you see your grandpa, tell him that next time he's here on kahuna business, I'll have a malasada waiting for him on the house, okay?"

It took a moment for the lady's comment to register, but when it did, I did a double-take, looking from Hau to the food truck and back again. Rose reacted similarly, thinking and then staring at our new friend with wide eyes. Hau simply blushed harder – undoubtedly realizing that all eyes were on him – but when Iole tried to bite into the cardboard box, he twisted around and shyly nodded a goodbye to the older Pokemon.

"Th-thanks, miss Julie," He said, shaking around awkwardly to keep his pet Pichu from getting at the malasadas, and then he raised his head and walked over to a nearby bench, his lightning-tipped tail wiggling erratically behind him. Erin perked up and followed after him, and Cyan, Rose and I took one last glance at the food truck before heading over to the bench as well, the breeze kicking up again and ruffling our clothes and fur.

"I didn't know your grampa was the kahuna!" Erin chirped, seating herself next to the Alolan Raichu and reaching over, playfully scooping Iole up to give him a hug. Hau let out a nervous chuckle when the wild Pichu squeaked in dismay, and as the rest of us grouped back up, he opened up the cardboard box a tiny crack, peering at the snacks that lay within. "No wonder you wanna be the next kahuna! I bet he'd be super-duper proud of that, heeheehee!"

"So when were y'goin' t'tell us, anyway?" Cyan remarked, his arms folded against his tank top as he kicked back and leaned against a nearby tree, the back of his shell helmet clinking quietly against the soft bark. I frowned slightly at the blue-furred sea lion's bluntness, and Rose opened her mouth to scold him again, but before she even got a word out, Hau spoke up for himself.

"I know, I know. Sorry, Cyan," The Alolan Raichu apologized, closing the box of malasadas back up with an embarrassed expression on his face. "I just didn't want you guys treatin' me like a kid or anythin', you know? Like miss Julie tellin' you to take care of me. I'm takin' the island challenge to get strong enough to become kahuna, and to do that, I'll need to be able to take care of myself and everyone else, too. Not... the other way around."

We all went quiet, the wind blustering through the trees and shaking branches as our friend's explanation sank in. Cyan had closed his eyes and was nodding to himself, while Erin and Rose were both looking down at their footpaws, and even Iole had simmered down somewhat, reaching out to try and comfort his owner. I glanced up at the clouds passing over our heads, rolling the words around in my head, over and over – and then after a minute or so, I ambled over to the electric type and lightly tousled his headfur, prompting him to look up at me.

"It's fine, Hau. I get where you're coming from," I said as I dropped my arm back to my side, and I shook the thought away, grinning cheekily and shaking my head towards Cyan, my aura tassels bumping against each other from the motion. "Just means that Cyan'll need to train harder so you don't beat him next time you two battle, hah!"

"Wh- hey!" Cyan barked indignantly, standing up a little straighter, but when I shot him a wink and a reassuring nod, he relented, letting out a groan of annoyance instead. Erin giggled, scratching Iole behind his ears as her boyfriend walked over and gave the Alolan Raichu a smirk. "Ehh... I guess that's fair. Like I said, y'did a damn good job yesterday, yknow!"

Hau beamed at the Samurott's praise, his gray eyes filling with both gratitude and relief, and he glanced between the four of us again, breaking out into another genuine smile. As Rose stepped over to give his shoulder a squeeze, he opened up the cardboard box and offered it to us. "Thanks, you guys... now c'mon, let's eat before these get cold!"

The four of us nodded in agreement, and I bent over, reaching right into the box to take one of the unfamiliar treats for myself. I paused for a split-second when I felt a crusty layer of sugar stick to my fingers, but picked one out anyway, bringing the pastry up to my muzzle and giving it a once-over. The lightly-browned, egg-sized lump of dough really was coated in sugar, enough so that I instinctively held my other hand underneath to keep the stuff from running off. Then, after a moment more, I popped the entire thing into my mouth.

My eyes widened, and then fluttered shut, as soon as I bit down: the sheer sweetness of the sugar balanced out the heavy richness of the eggy dough, which was crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Wiping my hands off on the fur around my blunted chestspike, I chewed, the tastes and textures sending a shiver down my spine, and by the time I finally gulped the malasada down, I already felt a craving for another one. Opening my eyes again, I took a deep breath and watched everyone else eat theirs, Rose, Cyan and Erin having similar reactions. Smiling, I looked around the park again – and saw the food truck, still parked just nearby.

"You know what," I said, without even a second thought. "I'll be right back."

* * *

"Huh, apparently their main bakery is right down in the beachfront district-" I glanced up from my phone when I heard a short beep, watching as my partner pulled her card key away from the door and pushed it open with a shove. Standing up taller, I walked down the hallway after her, tightening my grip on the pink, cardboard box tucked under my arm. "And somehow we never found it, even with all the driving I do down there."

"Hehehe, that means it's something to look forward to when we get back home, isn't it?" Rose chuckled softly, padding around and holding the door open, and I gladly stepped back into our hotel room, my ears flicking at the sound of our two other teammates' footsteps.

A sigh escaped my muzzle when a refreshing chill sank into my sun-warmed fur, the AC unit rumbling across the room, and I flipped my phone case closed to take a look around. Someone had cleaned the place up while we were gone, our bags having been neatly arranged at the foot of the freshly-made beds, and both of the lamps had been turned on for some reason, despite the fact that the curtains were still pulled aside. Light poured in from outside, the sun having risen high above the mountains in the time it'd taken us to walk back.

"You must have reeeeally liked 'em to get a bunch all for yourself!" My eyes flicked towards Erin when she spoke, and she playfully stuck her tongue out, rocking back and forth on her heels all the while. Grinning, I blew a raspberry right back at the pink mink, my tail thumping repeatedly against the side of the television desk. Cyan, who was standing just behind his girlfriend, rolled his eyes at us.

"So when's th'surfin' thing supposed t'start tomorrow?" The Samurott asked, stomping over to his hiking pack and unzipping the main section, the other pockets rustling as he pulled out a handful of packing cubes. "Th'resort area's at th'opposite end o'town, isn't it?"

"Hm, good point. I'll check," I half-answered as I walked over to the bedside table, and I set the box of malasadas down before flipping my phone case right back open again, turning the screen on with a press of the power button. Tapping on the search bar, I hopped onto the bed, settling in atop the sheets as my thumbs flew across the keyboard. "Okay, let's see here. Puka Beach Challenge..."

Hitting enter, I set my phone down and watched the browser go blank, feeling the air buffet my aura tassels, making them bump and shake against my shoulders. As the page continued to load, I pulled my arms through my sleeves, scratching at my torsofur as I shook my checkered shirt off. My ears flicked when Cyan started to pat down every single packing cube, but when I picked my phone back up, the search had finished, an official event plastered right above the website results.

"Aha, here we are! Puka Beach Challenge, Kekona Resort District, 9am to 2pm," I read aloud, twisting around to shake the screen in the water type's direction. He nodded at me, the horn on his shell helmet grazing the packing cube he was holding, and he tossed it up onto the bed, grabbing the rest and shoving them back into his hiking pack. "So if we catch a Ryde, we'll probably get there with plenty of time to spare."

"Good..." Rose said, a few locks of her headfur falling in front of her face as she strolled over, and she sat down next to me, her nine fluffy tails brushing at my arms. "Why don't we make a day of it, then? We can check out the surfing competition, find Ilima to talk about our first trial, and then maybe we could get lunch and look around a little bit."

"Sounds fine t'me," Cyan said, standing up and dusting himself off, his hands clapping against the shell shinguards hidden under his cargo pants. Erin nodded in agreement, her whiskers twitching and her short tail waving.

"Yeah, yeah!" The Mienshao reached above her head, leaning from side to side and letting out a little grunt while she stretched out. "Mmmm- ooh, maybe we could go swimming once all the surfing stuff is over! That'd be really fun!"

"Maybe, if they don't take too long to clean up once the competition is ov-" My partner stopped mid-sentence, then let out a mild groan, scooting backwards and laying down fully on the bed. A flicker of concern ran through me, and I turned to look at the Ninetales, who sighed and shook her head. "I think my legs are sore from all the hiking we've been doing. I haven't walked this much in so long..."

The corners of my mouth curled ever-so-slightly as I gave my partner a once-over, her ponytail of headfur spilling over the sheets and trailing down her side. She peered right back at me, clasping her hands to her hoodie and tiredly rubbing her footpaws together.

"Getting out in such a rush today probably didn't help, either," I remarked, reaching over and putting my hand on top of hers, the sun glinting faintly off of my pawspike as I ran my palm back and forth against her midriff. "But since we're done so early, I guess we don't really have to go out for anything for the rest of the day."

"Feh, maybe you two don't-" Our heads whipped around when we heard Cyan march past, a toothy smirk on the blue-furred sea lion's face as he headed for the exit. "But I'm not tired at all, so I'm goin' t'look for an exercise room!"

"Ooh, I'll come with you!" Erin piped up, bouncing energetically on the tips of her footpaws as her boyfriend stepped by her, and the fighting type spun around, patting her back pocket to make sure she still had her card key. "What if they have a pool, too? Maybe we can go swimming today!"

The two younger Pokemon cheerfully crabbed at each other even as they left, their footpaws drumming against the carpet, and I stared blankly as they stepped out into the hallway and strode away, the door swinging shut behind them. Neither Rose or I said anything for a few moments, a comfortable silence falling over the room... and then I rolled my eyes, straightening my legs and grabbing at the button of my jeans.

"Well, in that case..." I joked, leaning back to kick my pants off, and I shivered when my sheath dropped out onto the sheets, a tiny jolt of arousal running down my spine. Letting the khaki denim fall to the floor, I relaxed, reaching down to fondle my ballsack somewhat. "Honestly, they're like bundles of nervous energy, the both of 'em."

"Mm, to be fair, we just find other ways to work it off," Rose replied, smiling coyly at me as she hooked her thumbs under her skirt and tugged it up and over her bent knees, letting it slide down her calves, then drop right next to my jeans. Her face briefly twisted into a wince, however, and she raised her head, looking down at her lower body. "Oof... but I think I used up all of mine wandering around the city, h-hehe. I don't even want to get out of bed."

My heart skipped a beat when she let out a sigh, spreading her legs open and letting a draft blow over her half-naked figure, and I stole a quick peek at her crotch, my sheath twitching at the sight of her pink pussy, standing out from her creamy coat of fur. Slowly, but surely, my gaze wound upwards, until our eyes locked. Then, I shot her a cheeky grin. "You know, we've got some free time now."

The Ninetales blinked, then looked down at her bare legs again, a bashful blush flaring onto her cheeks as she grabbed the hem of her hoodie, her breasts shaking as she started to pull the cozy sweater upward. Quickly, I hopped down from the bed, my balls swinging back and forth as I turned around and knelt down between her footpaws, her nine fluffy tails drooping down the side of the bed. I had the perfect view as she pulled the last of her clothes over her head, her ample G-cups bouncing and jiggling from her gentle movements.

Bringing my arms up, I let my hands rest on Rose's shapely thighs, running my palms in circles through her soft, silky fur, still watching as she threw her hoodie on top of the packing cube Cyan had left on the bed. Her nipples perked up slightly, pointing straight at the ceiling, and my penis started to harden as well, stirring, even throbbing within my sheath. I took a deep breath at the sight of the cream-furred fox's gorgeous curves, but I eventually returned my attention to her crotch, leaning in close and giving her folds a long, slow lick.

Rose cooed almost instantly, the sheets rustling quietly as she trembled in pleasure, a drop of wetness leaking out onto the tip of my tongue. Licking again, I smacked my lips, her warm juices mixing with the still-lingering sweetness of the malasadas from earlier; the taste sent another wave of arousal through me, and the sensation was enough to make my tapered tip poke out into the open air. I pulled back and glanced down at my lap, staring dazedly at my cock as it emerged, already stiff as a board and quivering needily, even with my knot still hidden away.

"Oooohhhh, Bill..." My partner breathed out, her lightly-accented voice ringing clearly in my ears, and I looked back up at her, the sunny window framing her body with light. She was groping at her round, firm boobs with both hands, bringing them up close to her muzzle, and her ruby red eyes sparkled as she stared at me from between the mounds. "Mmmf, n-no teasing..."

"Yes teasing?" I said slyly before diving right back into her crotch, raising my head a tiny bit to lap at her clit, flicking the sensitive nub of flesh over and over and over while deliberately avoiding the rest of her pussy. She gasped sharply, her head dropping onto the covers with a soft thump, and her tails waved from side to side, their orange tips brushing against my knees.

After a minute or two, I relented, rubbing my hands over her legs as I opened my mouth and started to tongue the Ninetales' pussy, slipping deep between her folds and licking everywhere that I could. She rocked her hips in response, a purring moan rumbling in the back of her throat – though it was quickly muffled when she ducked her face into her tits – and another round of juices gushed out of her, trickling down my jaw and onto the floor. Curling my fingers tighter around my partner's thighs, I continued to lick her pussy, going up and down a few times, then swirling my tongue in circles all over her clenching walls.

Pangs of arousal coursed through my nerves as I ate Rose out, my ears flicking as I listened to my partner breathe in and out through her nose; her footpaws were dangling just over the edge of the bed, gingerly grazing against my aura tassels. Her purring moans mixed with a series of slurping noises as her pleasure built, and I looked up, my heart fluttering when I saw her suckling, squeezing, groping her breasts. Her pussy tightened even more around my tongue as the pressure built, and I got in as close as I could, licking deep and pressing my nose to her clit.

"A-Aah-!" The cream-furred fox shuddered, mushing her massive tits together and wiggling her legs somewhat in an attempt to get my attention. "Y-Yes...! Aahhmmm..."

I grinned inwardly when she started to suck on her boobies again, too caught up in the waves of pleasure to stop herself, and I pulled my hands in close, using the tips of my thumbs to pull her plump labia wide open. I could feel her body's heat sinking into my fur, her inner fire surging within her, and I nuzzled her clit again, and again, and again, eagerly lapping up her fluids each time she humped my muzzle. Her hips were practically moving on their own now, her thighs flexing under my palms, and her moans slowly got stronger, louder...

...and then she came, her mouth popping off of her breasts as she let out a squeal of bliss, and she arched her back, a flood of juices squirting audibly from her pussy and splashing right into my face. I jerked backwards, scrunching my eyes shut when the fire type squirted on me a second time, her hot, sticky fluids splattering against my forehead and dripping down my cheeks. I could still taste her on my tongue, a faintly spiced flavor sending a pleasant tingle through me, and I felt my dick twitch needily, a glob of precum oozing from my tip.

"Aahhhh... oooohh Arceus, Bill..." Rose panted heavily, dropping back down onto the bed with a sigh, still lightly bucking her hips every so often. As she rode out her afterglow, I reached up to wipe my face clean, my pawspikes tapping against my furrowed brow as I rubbed at my eyes, her fluids still dripping all down my chin. After a second or two, I stood up and blinked, glancing over at my partner with a satisfied smile.

"Feeling any better, Rose?" I asked, taking a deep breath and dropping my arms to my sides, and the Ninetales slowly sat up, still looking somewhat shaky even as she smiled back at me, her ruby red eyes sparkling as she looked me up and down.

"Much, hehehe," She chuckled, leaning forward and reaching out to me, and my breath hitched when she ran her palm down my cock, her fingertips sending sparks through my sensitive shaft. Then, she scooted away and shimmied from side to side, her big, round boobs swinging hypnotically from the motion. "Now come over here and let me help you with that, hmm?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written July 2018)
> 
> As mentioned in the previous chapter, introducing Hau was a bit of a challenge. With the last chapter having set the basics down, this was more focused on expanding him a little bit, bringing up his relation to Hala, as well as his malasada obsession. I feel like it somewhat overshadowed Kekona City itself a little bit... but then again, the city it's based on in reality is still getting built up as well, and there isn't a huge amount of interesting stuff there. :y
> 
> In hindsight, I still really like the way the intro segues into the discussion with Furfrou about the Puka Beach Challenge and Ilima's absence. It ties everything together neatly and leads right into Chapter 6, and it feels quite nice to read, or at least I think so.


	6. Surf, Skulls and Seaside Mayhem!

A fleet of wispy clouds weaved their way through the bright blue sky, carried along by a strong coastal gale blowing in from the ocean, loud enough to drown out the squawking of the wild Wingull that were circling overhead. Palm trees stood tall, swaying ever-so-slightly in the wind, but the hotels and resorts stood even taller, the early morning sunlight gleaming against far-off windows and stylish walls. Down below, tourists strolled through the streets of Kekona City's resort district, from an stocky Arcanine and fluffy Mightyena hurrying after a little Growlithe toddler, to a couple of Meowstic and an elegantly-trimmed Furfrou stepping out of a nearby car.

I was shaken out of my trance when a stray flower petal drifted past my face, and I looked up at the shorter trees lining the sidewalk, covered in so many little yellow, pink, or white blooms that they didn't even seem to have any leaves left on their branches. One of my eyebrows quirked upward at the sight. "Kind of kitschy out here, huh?"

"Yeah, yeah! Isn't it cool?" Erin piped up in response, and I tore my gaze away from the trees, glanced over at the lean, lithe Mienshao as she skipped ahead, her short tail wagging through a hole in the back of her one-piece swimsuit. "Everyone seems really happy, too, heeheehee!"

"It doesn't really match up with the rest of Kekona City, does it?" Rose thought aloud, the heat of her inner fire briefly washing over me as she stepped up to my side, her pink, flame-patterned bikini and sarong clinging to her curves. I watched her breasts bounce out of the corner of my eye, then took a deep breath when I felt my sheath quiver in my loose-fitting swim trunks. "But all of these hotels... I didn't realize they were building things up this much."

"Me neither." I nodded, folding my arms against my blunted chestspike, my torsofur ruffling in the warm, blustery breeze. As we passed the Meowstics and Furfrou by, their car suddenly drove down to the end of the road, made a circle, and came right back, and I spotted the familiar green sticker in the corner of the windshield. "Looks like we aren't the only ones who hitched a Ryde here. This must be the place to go if you just want to relax all vacation."

"Hmph, I jus' want t'find Ilima an' get this done with!" The three of us all turned towards Cyan, who stomped up just behind us, slapping his fan-shaped tail against his swim-jammers for emphasis. I grinned cheekily at the Samurott, even as he continued. "Once we know we're in th'clear about our first trial, then we can go ahead an' watch th'surfin'!"

"Relax, Cyan, I'm sure it'll be fine. It doesn't start until a few minutes from now, I'm sure we'll be able to find him before everything gets started." I reached out and tapped my fist against the water type's lighter-blue underbelly, feeling his abs flex somewhat at my touch. He rolled his eyes, dropping his arms to his sides and stomping up to my other side, and I chuckled before turning back around, two hotels rising higher as we approached.

At the cul-de-sac, the street split off into driveways that wound their way up to the resorts, along with one that headed straight forward into a tree-shaded parking lot, which was already almost full, both with cars, and a couple of wild Stoutland that were napping in the shade. Hints of deep blue sea were visible through the trees, and as we circled around the dead-end street, the sounds of clamor and chatter got louder and louder, putting a twinkle in our eyes and a spring in our steps. With an spark of renewed energy, the four of us headed down the path to the beachfront, my aura tassels bumping and sliding against my shoulders with every step I took.

The beach, which was absolutely packed, with dozens of anthro Pokemon laying on lounge chairs, sitting on towels and resting under palm-frond umbrellas, forcing the rest of the chattering crowd to stand a few feet away from the shoreline, eagerly awaiting the start of the competition. As we reached the edge of the sidewalk and stepped onto fancier cobblestone, we slowed to a stop, and I scanned over the various visitors, going all the way from one end of the lagoon to the other.

"Hoo boy," I let out a low whistle, leaning from side to side in a vain attempt to look through the crowd, the sand and sea only somewhat visible past the mess of arms, legs, tails, and whatever else. Shaking my head, I took a deep breath and sighed, unable to stave off a prickle of annoyance. "Looks like we won't be renting any towels or chairs anytime soon."

"Mmf... I can't even see the water, there's so many Pokemon here-" Rose hopped up to the tips of her footpaws, cocking her head in curiosity as she, too, tried to check the beach out. Not long after, she dropped back down, turning to look at Cyan. "Cyan, you're the tallest. What all do they have set up out here? Anything interesting?"

The sea lion grumbled under his breath, but walked right up behind a shorter Quagsire and looked all around. Said Quagsire looked over his shoulder at us, gave us a blank smile, and then turned back around, eliciting a friendly giggle from Erin in the process. "There's a big tent, with a microphone an' speakers, looks like a bunch o'Pokemon are sittin' an' waitin' in there... an there's some wild Mantine on th'beach, too! They're wearin' plastic saddles an' everythin'."

"What about Ilima?" I asked, but the younger Pokemon simply shook his head.

"Did someone say my name?"

We all jolted in surprise, spinning around when a calm voice spoke up behind us, and I smiled in relief when I spotted a familiar Smeargle striding down the sidewalk, his paintbrush-shaped tail wagging back and forth behind him. He paused for a moment, and then his eyes lit up in recognition, a smile spreading across his rounded muzzle.

"Ah, it's you!" Ilima raised his hand and threw us a quick shaka, his wavy, pink headfur drooping down in front of his face as he waved at us. "Greetings!"

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! Surf, Skulls and Seaside Mayhem!**

* * *

The normal type's calm, friendly voice cut through the tension in the air like a hot knife through butter, and I shuffled over, feeling myself relax as we gathered around him. He glanced between Rose and I, tapping a finger against his chin. "I believe it was... Bill, and Rose, yes?"

"You got it. And our friends, Cyan and Erin, too," I said, gesturing towards the Samurott and Mienshao, who both nodded hello at the tan-furred beagle. As he nodded hello back at them, I gave him a quick once-over; he was wearing the same white clothes and brown argyle vest from the other day, and I couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh, you seem a little overdressed for a day at the beach."

Ilima blinked – no doubt staring at our swimsuits – and then let out a quiet laugh of his own, absently brushing a hand against his pants to dust himself off. "Yes, well, I'm unfortunately here on trial captain business, so I don't think I'll have the chance to really enjoy the surfing. What about you all, though? What brings you to the Puka Beach Challenge?"

"Well, um... we came to look for you, actually," Rose answered sheepishly, a faint blush rising onto her cheeks as she spoke."We went over to the Alola University campus yesterday morning to meet with you about our first trial, but the lady at the front desk told us that you got a call to come here the night before. She guessed that it was something to do with the competition, so we decided to come today to try and look for you. Is... is that okay?"

The Smeargle didn't reply at first, silently digesting the fire type's explanation, his expression slowly going from confusion, to surprise, and then finally to understanding. After a second or two, he dropped his arms to his sides and gave my partner a reassuring smile.

"You're quite determined to see your island challenge through! How refreshing." The four of us shared a mutual smile at the normal type's remark; Rose clasped her hands to her bikini top, while Cyan let out a snort and Erin rocked back and forth on her heels. Ilima wasn't done talking just yet, however, and we all perked up when he spoke up again. "But I'm afraid now isn't the best time to discuss it. Like I said, I'm here on business, and-"

He was interrupted by a quick burst of static coming from further down the beach, prompting the crowd of Pokemon to start cheering in excitement, and the trial captain turned his head to stare at them with furrowed brows. Then, he looked towards one of the resorts and strode down the sidewalk, his paintbrush-shaped tail whipping around so fast that it flung a couple pink-tinted droplets onto the nearby pavement.

"It sounds like the challenge is about to start," The tan-furred beagle said, his voice hard to hear above the din, and with a swing of his arm, he beckoned us to follow along. "Come on, this way! With luck, you might actually be able to help me out."

We quickly started after him, our pawpads pressing against sun-warmed cobblestone as we headed a short ways away from the beach and the road, following Ilima up a short set of steps that led to a small terrace, no doubt belonging to one of the hotels nearby. As we climbed up onto the lanai, I gazed off into the distance, the added height offering us a scenic view of the rest of the beach. Just as Cyan had said, a red-roofed tent stood at one side of the shore, and large, foamy waves rolled in from the turquoise-tinted ocean, washing over three wild Mantine wearing what looked like Ryde gear.

"Wooooowww... look at how big the waves are!" Erin skipped right over to the terrace's railing, grabbing the metal bar and leaning over as far as she could, her whiskers twitching as the full force of the sea breeze swept over us.

"What do y'need us t'help y'with, anyway?" Cyan asked, only for Ilima to raise a hand to shush the Samurott.

"Shh-!" The trial captain walked up next to Erin, an intent expression on his muzzle. "Just keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks out of place. Hopefully there won't be any trouble, but..."

He trailed off, and, as if on cue, a lively, prerecorded music track began to play from the speakers, twanging strings and fluttery flutes drifting clearly through the air. The song's volume got a little louder, then a bit softer, and the audience broke into another round of cheers, jumping up and down and waving their arms above their heads. Then, there were a couple brief taps of white noise, followed by the cough of someone clearing their throat.

"Alooooooola!" An announcer belted out, the sound of his cheerful voice getting everyone's attention. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the annual Puka Beach Challenge! How's everybody doing this morning, eh?"

The countless beachgoers shouted out a variety of answers, from a couple of 'good!'s to a few 'maika'i!'s here and there, and Erin joined in with a whoop of her own. Cyan reached over to hold his girlfriend steady, and I glanced over to my other side when Rose walked up, my heart skipping a beat when I saw the excitement filling her ruby red eyes.

"Ahh, now that's what I like to hear!" The announcer picked the conversation back up, sounding so energetic that I could practically hear him grinning from within the red tent. "The waves are high, the sun is out and the wind is strong, so I think we're all in for a treat this morning! But before we get started, I just want to give a quick shout-out to our friends at Surf'n'Sun up in Pueo Town, and also the Aether Foundation, one of our sponsors, for providing us with all our boards, gear, and everything! For anyone here from the mainland, you might've seen surfing before, but right here, right now, you'll get to see some real good surfing, Alola-style, hahaaah!"

"Heh, can't fault him for enthusiasm," I said, looking over the audience when they started to cheer again: stragglers were still trickling in from the street, carefully pushing through the masses to try and find a decent place to stand, figures moving and shuffling every which way. "Seems like things are running pretty smoothly, though."

"Pueo Town... I'll have to look that up in the guidebook when we get back to the hotel," Rose added, smiling brightly as she watched the hustle and bustle, and she let out a soft sigh when I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in for a quick hug.

"Alright, alright, I think that's enough outta me, heheheh!" We both looked back out towards the ocean as the announcer continued, still chuckling at his own joke. "All the surfers participating this year are lookin' pumped up and ready to go, and in just one more minute, we'll be kicking the surfing season off with a- uh!?"

His excitement gave way to a grunt of confusion, and without warning, a sudden squeal of feedback erupted from the speakers. Most of the crowd flinched, groaning in dismay at the painful sound, and we fared little better despite standing further away; I jolted, clenching my teeth and scrunching my face, and Rose's fur bristled at the unpleasant noise. Cyan and Erin were hunching their shoulders unhappily, but Ilima had reflexively pressed his hands against his floppy ears, and was still staring intently at the beach. Once the ringing in my ears had dulled, I peered outward again, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Yo!" An entirely new voice, scratchy and rough, spoke up, and my gaze flicked towards the red-roofed tent when a pair of anthro Pokemon stalked into view, stomping across the sand until they were standing in the middle of the beach. It was a tall Arbok and a scrawny Crobat, both garbed in black shorts and tank tops emblazoned with a stylized skull, the former clutching the microphone in his fist. "And why didn't you invite the surfin' masters of Team Skull, eh?"

"Shoot..." I looked over at Ilima when I heard him mutter to himself, his muzzle drooping into a deep frown. "So the reports from the other day were right after all."

"An' who're these assholes supposed t'be?" Cyan growled, shooting a glare at the intruders, who had started to swing their arms around in... something, that looked halfway between a funky dance and some kind of bewildering gang signs.

"You heard them. They're part of Team Skull... Alola's resident troublemakers," The trial captain explained as he pulled out a phone from his vest's pocket, powering it on and typing as fast as he could. "The other day, the police had a report about some squatters matching their description, so they called me in just in case they tried something like this. They're like Team Rocket, but they aren't nearly as big or organized as... er, you know about Team Rocket, right?"

He meant well, going by the respectful look on his face as he glanced between the four of us, but the mere mention was enough to make all of my muscles tense up at once, an unpleasant emotion stirring in the pit of my stomach. Not a split-second later, though, I felt Rose grab my hand and squeeze gingerly, her soft touch helping pull me back to reality. Worry was written all over my partner's muzzle, and I forced myself to smile, even as I replied. "Yeah... yeah, we know."

"Mm... then you won't mind if I excuse myself, either," Ilima said as he stepped away from the railing. "Stay here. This shouldn't take long."

I watched as the Smeargle turned and quickly jogged down the terrace's steps, his expression calm and professional as he marched across the sidewalk. Rose squeezed my hand again, and I took a deep breath and sighed, pulling her in for another half-hug, her breasts smushing against my side and her sarong grazing against my leg. We both focused back on the beach when the Team Skull grunts started to beatbox – very, very poorly – into the microphone, while Ilima pushed his way through the confused crowd.

"Team Skull!" He raised his voice and called loudly, and after a second or two, the normal type stepped out onto the sand, his pink headfur waving slightly in the wind. The pair of Pokemon both twisted this way and that at the yell, then did a double take when they noticed him.

"Well well, if it isn't mister killjoy himself!" The Arbok hissed, folding his arms against his tank top and glowering.

"Yeah, what do you want, Ilima!?" The Crobat added, leaning sideways so he could speak into the microphone, spreading his winged arms out all the while. "What, you here to go surfin'? You wanna have a day at the beach?"

"I'm here to bring you in." Ilima took another step forward, a series of hushed murmurs rippling through the audience as he took control of the conversation. Erin leaned way over the railing, her short tail smacking against my swim trunks, and I gave the Mienshao a quick nudge with my elbow to get her to move over a little bit. "The police already know that it was you who snuck into the Trade Winds Resort the other day. If you turn yourselves in, I'm sure you would get yourselves a lesser sentence."

"Oh yeah? What makes you think we wanna go anywhere, huh?" The Arbok shot back smugly, his long, scaly tail sliding against the beach.

"Well, the police officers on the streets at both ends of the lagoon, for starters," Ilima replied smoothly, and I heard Cyan let out an approving grunt. "I called them over as soon as you showed up."

"Whuh!?" The Arbok's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and he and the Crobat turned to look at each other, their attitudes doing a complete turnaround. Ilima took another step forward, folding his arms against his argyle vest. "Sh-Shit... you're bluffin'!"

"And why would I need to do that?" The normal type stared the two troublemakers down, and I let a wry smile curl its way onto my muzzle, bringing an arm around to scratch at my blunted chestspike in the meantime. Rose hummed quietly in concern, her hands still clasped to her bikini top as she watched the scene unfold. "There's nowhere for you to run, okay? Just put the microphone down, and come with me, and there won't be any more trouble."

The Arbok and Crobat both anxiously glanced around the crowded beach, but while the purple-furred bat continued freaking out, the scaly-tailed cobra stared at the waves that were rolling into shore, seemingly lost in thought. Then, he turned around to face the audience and reared back, his hoodflaps spreading open as he raised his arms high above his head.

"No way, asshole!" The Team Skull grunt yelled defiantly, and before anyone had a chance to react, the poison type flung the microphone to the ground.

Feedback exploded out of the speakers, intensely loud and excruciatingly sharp, and my ears almost immediately flattened against my skull, the sheer noise sending a heavy, ringing shudder down my spine. I let go of Rose, who staggered and groaned in pain, and Cyan and Erin both bent over ever-so-slightly, fidgeting in displeasure. The crowd of Pokemon on the beach had it even worse, screaming or stumbling over in shock, and even Ilima jerked back, giving the Arbok and Crobat an opening to run across the beach... and over to the harnessed Mantine basking in the shallows.

"Hey! Stop!" Ilima's cried distantly through the air, and I opened my eyes up just a crack, staring out over the railing in time to see him shake himself out of his stupor. Perking up, he dashed towards the pair of Pokemon, who were kicking and shoving at one of the unfortunate wild Mantine, trying feverishly to push it out to sea. The Crobat looked over when he heard Ilima yell, and then he stiffened nervously, doing a panicked little dance even as he stepped in front of his friend. The trial captain got closer and closer, step by step-

-and then the Crobat spread his wings and let loose with a horrific screech, a series of sound waves visibly leaving his jaws. The Smeargle froze, swinging his arms forward to brace himself, but the auditory assault crashed into him head-on, sending him skidding backwards until he toppled onto his paintbrush-shaped tail and lay still. With a whoop, the Team Skull grunts shoved the wild Mantine into the water, climbing up onto its back and straddling the plastic saddle afterward, and with a stomp, the unfortunate water type swam forward, ferrying them out to sea.

Somewhere in the back of my head, something clicked, and I spun on my heels, sprinting across the terrace, down the steps to the sidewalk, and shoved my way into the crowd of Pokemon. They were still moaning and shaking – no doubt from having been closer to the speakers when the feedback rang out – and I felt my swim trunks scrunch around my waist as I ran for the beach.

"Ilima!" I cried out, elbowing past an immensely-busty Incineroar and slipping in-between a couple of Furrets in speedos before finally breaking through the last of the beachgoers, my footpaws reaching the softer, untouched sand. My eyes immediately locked onto Ilima, who was still laying on the beach, and I jogged over, kneeling down to check on him. "You okay!?"

The tan-furred beagle only replied with a stupefied groan. He certainly didn't look okay: his eyes were still open, but they were glazed and unfocused, and even as I slowly sat him up, he wobbled in a slow, unsteady circle.

"Bill!" I looked over my shoulder, letting go of a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding when I saw Erin scrambling through the crowd, Rose and Cyan keeping close behind.

"Something's wrong," I said, scooting away when the Mienshao squatted low, and I stood back up, dusting sand off of my legs as my younger teammate looked Ilima over. "Whatever he got hit with, he's really out of it now."

"He looks like he's disoriented... grr, that mean old Crobat probably hit him with a supersonic attack!" She said after a moment, reaching down to pat her hips, then patting further around her one-piece swimsuit in confusion. Then, she twisted around to look at Cyan, her whiskers twitching. "Wait... oh no, I didn't bring my bag with me! Cyan, can you go look for the Pokemon Center and buy a fullheal spray? He needs that and to sit still for a little bit, so the dizziness can go away!"

"Got it!" The Samurott nodded, his tail slapping against his swim-jammers as he doubled back and headed for the street.

"What's going on now!?" Rose, Erin and I blinked when a frazzled voice spoke up, and we glanced at the anthro, spiky-furred Jolteon jogging over from the red-roofed tent, his focus going from us, to Ilima, to the Mantine, over and over and over. "Who're you guys!?"

"We're taking the island challenge. We were talking with Ilima earlier, before everything went down," I explained, but the electric type wasn't even listening anymore, having turned his attention to the open ocean, watching the Team Skull grunts make a sharp turn and zoom north.

"Oh man... oh man, what are we gonna do...!?" The Jolteon moaned, bringing his arms up and letting his face fall into his hands. "Aaaugh, the manager's gonna kill me for letting Team Skull steal one of those Mantine! What are we gonna do!?"

All I could do was stare silently out at the sparkling sea, the wind blustering against my tail and aura tassels. The audience behind us was still a complete mess, yelling and crying out in hysterics, and tension hung heavy in the air. I scanned across the shoreline, glaring at the Team Skull grunts as they got further and further away, but I paused when my gaze fell onto the two Mantine that were left on the beach, gentle waves still splashing over their fins. For a minute, I stood transfixed, sunlight glinting against the green, plastic saddles strapped to the backs of the wild Pokemon.

Then, I turned towards Rose, reaching out to take her hand in mine. The Ninetales gasped softly, cocking her head in confusion, only to gasp again in understanding when I gave her a serious nod. A flash of hesitation briefly crossed her face... and then it was gone just as quickly, replaced by a worried yet determined expression, her nine fluffy tails curling and uncurling all the while.

"Hey," I said, walking over to the Jolteon and tapping his shoulder. He jumped about a foot into the air in surprise, then looked at us with a shaky, agitated frown. I gestured towards the wild Mantine, then folded my arms against my blunted chestspike. "Think we could try and chase those two down?"

"Whuh..." The announcer swiveled around to look at the Mantine, then turned back to Rose and I with a panicked look, his spiky fur standing on end from stress. "Are you crazy!? I already lost one of them to those crazy Team Skull whackjobs!"

"And if we start chasing after them now, then we might be able to get it back for you!" I replied, taking a deep breath afterward to try and settle my nerves down.

"Sir, please listen..." Rose stepped in front of me, smiling as reassuringly as she could, her ruby red eyes sparkling with warmth. "Team Skull hasn't gotten too far away yet, but the longer we wait, the less chance we'll be able to catch up with them. We're taking the island challenge, and if you're still nervous, you can ask Ilima when he recovers. I know we're asking a lot, especially since we're both strangers, but please..."

The Jolteon stared at my partner, then at me, and then stared down at his footpaws, trembling somewhat. Time seemed to slow down as he mulled things over, and I peered out at the ocean again, my eyes narrowing darkly when I spotted the Team Skull grunts, already almost a speck on the horizon.

I turned back to the announcer when he raised his head, however, opening his mouth to answer.

* * *

"Haaaah, fuck yeah! Did you see Ilima?" The Crobat yelled, grinning from ear to ear as he stood atop the wild Mantine – and then yelping in surprise when they passed over a particularly rough patch of water. Throwing his winged arms around his friend's torso, he hung on for dear life, glancing down at his legs when he felt the cobra's tail coil around one of them, helping him keep his balance as they sped across the ocean. "He just dropped like a rock!"

"Heheh, he won't be gettin' up from that anytime soon!" The Arbok snickered, tightening his grip on the handles protruding from the Mantine's saddle when he felt the strong breeze blow right into his hoodflaps. "And we're home free! Beats havin' to swim like back on Akala, remember?"

"Yeaah, hahahahah..." The Crobat chuckled, glancing to his right and watching the waves crash up against the low, rocky cliffs, sending sprays of froth up into the air. "So what's the plan now, bro? Where're we goin'?"

"Back to Verdant Town, that's where!" The Arbok replied, leaning forward to look around, and then he briefly stretched an arm out, pointing at the series of hills rising up on the horizon. "We can dump this stupid thing somewhere on the beach where nobody'll find it, then go back to the motel and let Big Sam know we did what the boss wanted!"

"Oh, yeah! Yeah, that sounds good!" The Crobat nodded, perking up at the mention of their Team Skull superior, and an eager grin quickly curled onto the bat's face. "Hey, I bet Big Sam'll be glad that we stole this Mantine... maybe the boss'll be happy enough to let us come home early! We can hand it off to him and he'll do... whatever he does with the Pokemon we steal!"

The Arbok blinked, then smiled lewdly, rolling the other grunt's statement around in his head a few times. "And then we'll eatin' real food, and sleepin' on a decent bed, and fuckin' Big Sam's pussy and ass and tits instead of havin' to jack off twice a day, yeaaaaaah!"

The two friends laughed cheerfully, sharing a fist bump before focusing back on the ocean, and the Crobat looked over, staring blankly at the western mountain range. Taking a deep breath, he stole a quick peek over his shoulder, checking to see how far they had gotten from Kekona City – and then he tensed up, a fresh wave of stress coursing through him as he desperately thumped his wings against his friend's sides. "What the hell!? Bro, look!"

The Arbok grunted irritably, but when he twisted around and saw what the other grunt was so worked up about, his jaw dropped. "No way!"

* * *

"Bill? Are you sure this was a good idea?"

Rose's breasts smushed into my back as she leaned further into me, the fabric of her bikini top rubbing against my torsofur, and I felt my swim trunks rustling against my thighs as the wild Mantine jetted across the waves, leaving a trail of bubbles in its wake. Water flowed smoothly past the manta ray's fins, lightly splashing against our legs, and the wind whistled past our ears, my aura tassels and her ponytail of headfur – not to mention her nine fluffy tails – fluttering behind us. I glanced down at our impromptu ride, then back at my partner, and shrugged.

"Probably not," I said, looking forward again to keep my eyes trained on the pair of grunts up ahead. They didn't even seem to notice that we were following them, their triumphant laughter echoing through the air. "But I guess we don't have much of a choice now that we're out here!"

"Mmmph... as soon as Ilima mentioned Team Rocket, I had a feeling something like this would happen," The cream-furred fox replied, curling her fingers tighter around the handles of the Mantine's saddle. She tensed up a bit when another wave crashed against its side, making us bounce somewhat, and she reached a footpaw out, gingerly patting the wild Pokemon's side. "How're you doing, Mantine? Everything's okay down there?"

The water type let out a strange, slurping sound at her touch, flapping its fins up and down approvingly, and Rose pulled her leg back in when it swam harder, trying its best to catch up with Team Skull. I smiled grimly, determination welling up within me – and not a moment too soon, as my nerves flared when I saw the Crobat look over his shoulder and cry out in surprise. The Arbok did the same, swearing loud enough that we could hear him despite the distance, and he stomped his feet against their Mantine, which squealed unhappily and swam faster.

"Looks like they know we're here," I said, digging my footpaws into the saddle to urge our wild Mantine after them. "Let's go!"

We raced forward, staying hot on the grunts' trail even as they tried to get away, plumes of white water splashing up from our Mantine's fins as it cut through the surf with ease. The current whirled and shifted right underneath our footpaws, and my breath caught in my throat when a bumpy wave sent the Team Skull grunts sailing a couple inches into the air. Not a second later, they landed with a yelp and a splash, and I barely had time to shut my eyes before we zoomed straight through the spray. Rose was less prepared, sputtering in surprise when the salt water hit.

Once we'd cleared the splash, I looked back out again, furrowing my brow in concentration as I searched for an opening, any opening, to close the distance, the pair of troublemakers still staying a few yards ahead. My gaze flicked to the left when I noticed a larger wave crash on top of itself, rolling and churning and then building right back up again, and I shifted my weight sideways, hoping that it was enough of a signal to get the wild Mantine to turn.

Thankfully, it did just that, leaning over and straightening its fins out, and we glided towards the rising swell. My stomach lurched as we slowly, slowly, climbed up the wave, bit by bit... and then the Mantine turned away on its own, putting on a burst of speed as it went with the flow, gusts of wind blustering past us all the while. I grit my teeth, instinctively leaning forward when we shot towards the Team Skull grunts, going so fast that I almost thought we were going to crash. Just seconds before we collided with them, though, the Arbok glanced over his shoulder again.

"Crap!" He stomped his foot against their Mantine again, making it burble and splash a short ways ahead, and I heard Rose gasp nervously as our own Mantine narrowly avoided them. The purple-scaled cobra hissed frantically, his hoodflaps opening as he yelled out. "Go the fuck away!"

"Nuh-uh," I muttered under my breath, unable to keep the sass out of my voice.

"Just let us bring the Mantine back!" Rose called back hopefully. "Please!"

"No way! This thing's our ticket outta this dump!" The Crobat raised a winged arm to wring his fist at us, and his friend yanked hard on the saddle's handles, forcing their Mantine to turn towards the rising wave. The poor manta ray wiggled and writhed in the water, slapping its fins against the surface of the ocean, but after another sharp pull from its riders, it relented, bobbing up and down through the foaming swells.

As I guided our Mantine back around, I watched the two Pokemon zoom away with an angry yell, beginning to climb up the wave the same way we had done, probably hoping to build up enough speed to out-swim us. I couldn't help but crane my neck as I looked up and down at the wave, the sun casting sparkles across the water as it got taller and taller, and I shook my head a couple times before dropping it back down.

"Rose, think you can try to distract them somehow?" I asked, adjusting my stance on the saddle even as I glanced back at my partner, who had tilted her head to avoid getting hit in the face by my aura tassels. I sheepishly hunched over a little more to give her some extra room to breathe. "An aura sphere would hit them no problem, but I don't want to hurt their Mantine."

"I... I could probably try shooting a flamethrower at the water," The Ninetales replied, briefly letting go of the handle to comb her fingers through her messy, tangled headfur, her bangs drooping in front of her face. "An energy ball could work too, but water types are weak to that, and I can't reach them at all with psyshock... is that okay, Bill?"

I grimaced at the idea of her spitting fire right over my shoulder, but took a deep breath and focused back on Team Skull, my view tilting ever-so-slightly as we chased after them. “I'll follow your lead. You ready down there, Mantine?”

The water type made another slurping noise in response, then jetted forward, and I felt Rose fidget somewhat behind me as we climbed up the wave again, the top of which was already looking like it was ready to crash down onto our heads. Team Skull was already turning away by the time we started, however, and their Mantine clapped its fins against the ocean as it sped down to the calmer waters, kicking up gushes of spray with each paddle.

We both snaked back and forth across the surging tide, Melemele Island blurring in the corner of my vision, and I focused intently on the troublemakers surfing ahead of us, doing my best to keep them right between the saddle's handles. My ears flicked when I heard a rumbling in the back of Rose's throat, her body getting warmer as she stoked her inner fire, and I tensed up, leaning over a little bit further in the meantime.

A second later, we headed back down the wave, wind blasting into my face as we cut through the trail of foam that Team Skull's Mantine was leaving behind. The two grunts continued moving in the other direction, and as I adjusted my footpaws to turn us back around again, I felt Rose let go of the handles, grabbing onto my pawspikes instead as she poked her head out.

Then, with a growl, the cream-furred fox launched a huge, crackling fireball from her jaws, heat billowing forth as the swirling bundle of flames soared over my head. A split-second later, the attack hit the water with a telltale hiss, and the Team Skull grunts yelped in surprise when the flamethrower sent up a column of steam.

"Oh shit!" The Crobat screamed in complete and utter panic, and he jumped up and down a few times, then grabbed onto his friend again nervously. "We gotta get outta here!"

"I know, I know-!" The Arbok shot back, following his friend's lead by giving their Mantine yet another heavy, painful-looking stomp. "Move faster, you stupid-"

Before the black-clothed cobra could even finish his sentence, the wild Mantine let out an angry squeal, slowing to a stop in the middle of the wave and writhing around, jerking forward and backward and flapping its fins. Its riders were caught completely off guard, and I inhaled sharply when they were bucked into the air, flying backwards and crashing down right in front of us with a splash. Our Mantine let out a cry of fright when they landed, abruptly stopping and rearing back to avoid hitting them, and my heart turned to ice when I felt the saddle slip out from underneath my footpaws.

"W-Woah-!" I gasped, feeling Rose's bust squish against my shoulderblades as I fell against her, and the fire type reflexively wrapped her arms around my midriff, holding on tight as we both toppled off of the wild Mantine. "Ghh-!"

A shock jolted through my nerves when we hit the water, my face scrunching up when I felt the current sweep us under; the world turned into water, churning, roiling all around us, and I felt the wave finally collapse onto itself, sending us spinning into the depths. Rose clung to me, digging her fingers into my torsofur and nuzzling my cheek, and I tucked my arms and legs in, curling into a ball as best I could as the ocean bowled us over...

And then I felt something rough graze against my tail, followed by a tugging sensation, like we were being pulled along through the water, moving away from the swell. Seconds passed as the current finally started to settle down, and I puffed out my cheeks, my throat starting to ache the longer I held my breath. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but suddenly, we started to move upward, going higher and higher-

I gasped again when we reached the surface, light flooding into my vision, and my chest heaved as I took a deep gulp of the fresh, faintly-salty air, the coastal breeze blowing cool against my soaking-wet fur. Behind me, Rose coughed, her tails brushing against my footpaws as they floated on top of the water, and I forced my eyes open, turning my head to look down at my partner. I blinked, then grinned cheekily when I saw the green, hard plastic seat sticking out from under her arm, a familiar dark blue fin flapping against the calm water.

"Thanks for the save, Mantine," I said, awkwardly shuffling sideways until I was laying on the other edge of the saddle, and I sat up, my aura tassels slipping in front of my shoulders. Rose coughed again, then slowly sat up as well, and I looked over at her; her sarong had been pulled aside by the surf, exposing her bare crotch, and I reached over to peel the fabric away from her thigh. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah, I'm okay," The Ninetales replied, her creamy fur shining in the sunlight, and I pulled away as she adjusted the fit of her sarong, offering me a modest smile afterward. She quickly turned her attention towards the mountains on the horizon, however, a note of worry playing in her lightly-accented voice. "What happened? I don't see Team Skull, or the other Mantine, either."

"I think they fell and got pulled under, just like we did. But I'm not sure where-" I paused when our Mantine wiggled, its two antennae twitching as it gently paddled forward. Fidgeting somewhat atop the saddle, I stared at Melemele Island – and then chuckled when I saw another pair of antennae poking up from the sea. "Heh, hang on, I think it found us."

Sure enough, it was Team Skull's Mantine, its beady eyes sparkling as it paddled up to its friend, slowing to a stop once it reached us. The pair of manta rays happily splished and splashed in the surf, making their weird slurpy noises at each other, and Rose hummed thoughtfully, bringing her hands up to tug at her bikini top.

"Thank goodness... are you okay to swim back?" She asked, and the riderless water type blew a stream of bubbles in the water, flattening its fins out and holding steady for her. The cream-furred fox nodded, getting up and gingerly stepping onto the other saddle, grabbing its handle to pull herself onto the second Mantine. "I hope those two grunts are okay, though... I know we're not that far away from the island, but that wave was huge..."

Slowly, I got to my footpaws, my tail wagging back and forth as I gripped the handles again, the Ninetales' words rolling around in my head. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and searched inward for my gut feeling – and then opened right back up when a slight uneasiness fell over me.

"I don't think we've seen the last of 'em, if you ask me," I said, and I exhaled, the corners of my mouth curling into a smile again as I looked over at my partner. "C'mon, Rose, let's head back."

"Mmm... hopefully." She nodded, and my heart fluttered when I saw the sparkle playing in her ruby red eyes. "Let's go, Bill!"

* * *

By the time we made it back to Kekona City, the crowd of beachgoers had mostly dispersed, leaving only a handful of anthro Pokemon milling about. As we got closer and closer to the shore, I was able to make the figures out: Cyan and Erin both stood near a shaky-looking Ilima, while the Jolteon announcer was packing up the speakers and other equipment in the red-roofed tent. The electric type glanced over at us for a moment, then did a double-take, dropping the cardboard box he was carrying and jumping excitedly into the air. His outburst got the others' attention, and they peered out at the ocean, similarly perking up when they spotted us.

"Here comes the welcoming committee," I quipped, eliciting a soft laugh from Rose as the wild Mantine swam towards the lagoon. The water types slowed down when they reached the shallows, and with a push, I jumped off, splashing into the ankle-high water and waving at the group of Pokemon as they jogged over to us.

"Biiiill!" I took a quick step back when Erin tackled me, her tied fur sleeves swishing through the air as she gave me a quick hug. She wiggled from side to side, then broke away and ran for Rose when she hopped off of the other Mantine. My partner tensed up when the Mienshao crashed headfirst into her scruff of neckfur, then smiled warmly. "Rooose! You made it!"

"Hehehe, we're fine, Erin..." I smiled to myself as I watched the Ninetales comfort the fighting type, but my ears twitched when the Jolteon ran up next, looking just as excited as our teammate was.

"I can't believe it! Hah, you actually got 'em both back!" The spiky-furred Eeveelution laughed, looking over my shoulder at the pair of manta rays, who had paddled over to the third Mantine that had stayed behind, all of them noisily flapping their fins. "The tapu's really lookin' out for me today! I can't thank you enough, dudes!"

"We're just happy to help," I replied, twisting around to look at the wild Pokemon, but I sobered up for a second and looked back at the announcer. "But you might want to get the one Rose was riding to a Pokemon Center or something. That was the one Team Skull stole, and they kicked and stomped on it a lot. Doesn't seem like it's hurt too bad, but better safe than sorry, right?"

"Oh, man..." The Jolteon's face drooped at that, but he shook his head, his pointed ears flicking as he watched them splash about. "Well, still, thanks a million! I'll check up on 'em right now!"

With that, he dashed past me, skidding to a stop right in front of the wild Mantine and squatting down to look them over. I grinned, then turned back around when Rose and Erin padded up to my side, and my gaze fell onto Ilima, who was carefully leaning against Cyan's side for support. The tan-furred beagle regarded us with a studious expression, but after a minute of nothing but staring at each other, I adjusted the fit of my swim trunks and relaxed.

"You doing okay, Ilima?" I asked.

He sighed, reaching up and running a hand through his wavy, pink headfur. "I'm a little embarrassed with what happened, but other than that, I'm feeling better, thank you."

"I'm glad you're alright..." Rose said, nodding at the trial captain before glancing around at the resorts again, her nine fluffy tails waving from side to side. I did the same, looking from one hotel building to the other, the emptiness of the beach dawning on me even as my partner continued. "Was the surfing competition canceled?"

"Yes, unfortunately. With you and Team Skull taking the Mantine for a joyride, they'll probably have to wait a day or two before they're all recovered," Ilima said, taking a step forward and standing up straighter, slipping his hands into his vest's pockets. "What happened to those two grunts, by the way? You didn't bring them back with the other Mantine, I noticed."

"They fell off while we were swimming up a big wave," I explained, raising my arms to act out our chase, swooping my hands in a wavelike motion. Erin giggled. "Their Mantine got fed up with how they were treating it. We looked around after things settled back down, but we couldn't find them."

"Hmm... but at such a short distance from land..." The Smeargle furrowed his brow, gazing out at the wavy water, but he shook the thought away after a moment, turning back toward us. "Well, I wish things hadn't gone the way they did, but at least they're no longer in Kekona City."

"Hmph, good riddance t'bad rubbish!" Cyan barked, stomping over to our other side and folding his arms against his chest.

"I'll need to head over to the police station to let them know what happened here, but..." Ilima trailed off, pulling his phone out from his vest and powering it on, and Rose and I glanced at each other when he started to type, the both of us sharing a curious look. Before either of us could say anything, though, he looked right back up, smiling at the four of us. "How would you like to meet with me at my house in Verdant Town tomorrow, to discuss your trial?"

Excitement welled up within us as the normal type's words sank in, and after taking a quick look between the rest of my wide-smiling teammates, I nodded in agreement. "That sounds great!"

"Good!" The trial captain said, and I followed his arm as he pointed out towards the mountain range. "You might have seen it while you were chasing after Team Skull, but Verdant Town is just north of here, a few hours walk. My house should be pretty easy to find, but if you get lost, I live closer to Mount Kauakiowao than the water. Sounds good?"

He reached his hand out, offering it to me to shake, and with a confident smile, I took it and shook firmly. "Sounds good!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written August 2018)
> 
> This chapter was a surprisingly tough one to write, primarily because of trying to juggle everything I wanted to get across while simultaneously keeping to my self-imposed word count limit. Maybe that sounds a little silly, but if I let myself just go completely ham all the time, we'd end up with chapters as long as whole novellas. Restricting myself might make it harder in the moment, but believe you me, it's preferable than just bombarding you with 20k words of glop.
> 
> Anyway, despite it being tough, I ended up feeling very pleased once this chapter was finished. Essentially everything I wanted to get across - hinting at Bill and Rose's old backstories with Team Rocket, formally introducing Team Skull, and having Ilima and the trial come up at the end - was gotten across, and I overall feel like it's pretty well-rounded. The theme of Mantine Surfing was actually inspired by the bit near the start of Ultra Sun-Moon, where the pair of grunts show up at the beach, and I think combining it with Kekona's resort area made for a somewhat-serious, but still fun, little misadventure.


	7. A Small-Town Cooldown!

The moon was just barely peeking above the mountains when the door to the motel room swung open, its creaky hinges rising above the rustling of the trees as a gust of wind swept through the quiet, sleepy little town. A harsh, fluorescent bulb hung just outside, spilling light over the floorboards, and a dark silhouette quickly stepped into the doorframe, his hoodflaps spread and his long tail whipping around behind him. A very grumpy Arbok stalked his way into the cozy little hovel, followed by a very dejected Crobat, their black clothes sticking unpleasantly to their arms and legs.

"Stupid bullshit..." The Arbok spat bitterly, striding right over to the bed sitting at the opposite end of the room, grabbing at the hem of his Team Skull t-shirt and pulling the hard, crusty fabric up and over his head. "We had that in the bag, dude, in the bag! I'm never goin' Mantine-surfin' again!"

"Lucky nobody caught us nappin' on the beach after we swam ba- agh-!" The Crobat let out a yelp when he raised his arms, his stiff sleeves keeping his wings from spreading out all the way. "But geez, bro... those guys must've been friends of Ilima's or somethin', right?"

"How should I know?" The Arbok shot his friend a glare as he dropped his shorts, his purple scales gleaming faintly as he dug into his pocket and yanked his phone out. Powering it on, he pressed the phone icon and swiped sideways. "Fuck, whatever, let's call Big Sam to tell her what happened."

Quickly tapping in a number, the scaly-tailed cobra jammed his thumb against the call button, setting his phone down and sitting on the edge of the bed. The Crobat grunted when he finally tugged his shorts off, giving his soft, smoothshape penis a grope before easing down into a nearby chair. For a few seconds, the two naked Pokemon sat quietly, listening to the tinny speakers ring.

Then, there was a click – and a loud,, girlish moan echoed through the air. "S-Samanthaaaa... y-yeah... plow my fuckin' pussy..."

The Arbok and Crobat both bounced in surprise, a hot, red blush flaring onto their cheeks as a series of muffled moans and distant squeals filled the air, but a familiar, feminine voice snapped them right back to attention.

"Hello?" She said smoothly, but curiously. Neither grunt responded at first, prompting the other Pokemon to speak up again, this time a little firmer. "Hello!"

"U-Um..." The Arbok stammered, staring down at his phone with wide eyes, the twin tips of his hemipenis starting to poke out from his slit. "Big Sam?"

There was a moment of silence – aside from the apparent orgy going on on the other end of the phone – and then Samantha let out a long-suffering sigh. "Boys... what have I told you about calling me during girls' night in?"

They paused, then bowed their heads in embarrassment. "Sorry, Big Sam..."

"It's fine..." She replied, her frustration vanishing just as quickly as it had come. "So why are you two calling, huh? Is something wrong?"

The Arbok and Crobat looked at each other with grim expressions, and then the latter spoke up, sounding as anxious as could be. "U-Um... Big Sam? We kinda, umm... we kinda fucked up."

"What happened?" Her voice quickly gained a note of motherly worry, which helped to soothe the pair's frazzled nerves, not to mention making their dicks twitch. "C'mon, it's alright. Tell me."

"This whole week has sucked ass!" The Arbok fidgeted somewhat as he explained, his long, scaly tail rustling against the bedsheets. "First, the boss gave us bad info, that surfin' competition was today! So numbnuts here finds that out from the newspaper and starts freakin' out, and then while we're tryin' to figure out what to do, some dumbass tourists walk in on the room we were stayin' in! So we've been sleepin' in the bushes, tryin' to hide from the police until today!"

"What...!?" Samantha gasped, her concern growing, but before she could say anything else, the Crobat scooted his chair forward.

"We did fuck around with the surfin' competition real good, though!" The purple-furred bat added, his long ears twitching as the moans continued in the background. "But I guess the police called in Ilima, since he tried to arrest us! We stole one of those surfin' Mantine and got away, but, um, then two of his friends chased after us and knocked us off, so we had to swim all the way back to Verdant Town! An' we were hopin' that the boss would want us to bring the Mantine back home..."

"Oh, boys..." Their superior sighed again, though it was hard to tell if she meant to sound so sweet or if she was half-moaning from whatever was going on at the other end of the phone. "I'm so, so sorry you had to deal with all that. I don't know why the boss said it was in a few weeks, he must not have known... but I'm proud of you for getting the job done! It sounds like you did a great job!"

"Y-Yeah, well..." The Arbok grumbled, unable to stay mad as the other Pokemon lavished them with praise. "I wanna know if the boss'll let us come back home now!"

"I don't know, sweetheart," Samantha replied, and their hearts sank. "He left today to go on one of his trips, so he won't be back until after the weekend is over."

"Aw, dammit..." The Crobat groaned unhappily, leaning back in his chair and spreading his legs, his ballsack brushing against the cushion. "Well... c-can you at least send us some pics, Big Sam?"

"Hmm... tell you what-" A series of shuffling noises drifted from the phone's speakers, and the pair of grunts raised their heads, staring at the device. When it vibrated again, the Arbok grabbed it, his eyes widening when Samantha's face popped on-screen, her shiny, golden muzzle, tiny ears, and deep green eyes staring right at him. "You know how much the boss hates the trial captains, so go pay Ilima's house a visit tomorrow for some revenge, and I'll let you sit in on girls' night for a bit. Deal?"

The Arbok and Crobat stared for a second, then ran to plug the phone into the TV. "Deal!"

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! A Small-Town Cooldown!**

* * *

Dry leaves crunched underfoot as the pair of Pokemon jogged through the roadside thicket, pushing past gnarled trees and chest-height bushes, the sounds of car horns and braying wild Pokemon echoing in the distance. The clouds from the day before had been blown away, leaving the sky a clear, brilliant blue, but the wind itself had died down, leaving the morning sun to shine, high and hot, above the mountains. A sticky humidity was already starting to settle over the valley, prompting one of the grunts to let out a groan of exhaustion.

"Maaaaan..." The Crobat took a deep breath, grabbing at his black shirt and giving it a couple of sharp tugs to cool himself off, the warm weather having sunk heavily into the fabric. After a second or two, he dropped his arms back down to his sides, his thin wings grazing against the grass. "Why does Ilima gotta live at the ass-end of town? I swear, I'm gonna be sunbaked by the time we get there!"

"So am I, but you don't hear me bitchin' and moanin' about it..." The Arbok murmured under his breath, his hoodflaps opening and closing repeatedly despite his remark. Ducking his head underneath a low-hanging branch, the purple-scaled cobra slowed down somewhat and stared out at the long stretch of tarmac, trying in vain to see how much further they had to go. "Let's just get this done, dude, then we can go home and... I dunno, watch Big Sam's video call over again or somethin'."

"Yeah, yeah..." The purple-furred bat replied glumly, his long ears drooping as he followed along, the mention of last night's orgy doing little to lift his mood. "So what's the plan, bro? I know Big Sam told us to get some revenge on him, but what do you think we oughta do?"

"I dunno, dude, I haven't thought that far ahead yet!" The Arbok threw his arms in the air as he replied, his head flicking towards a dirty, fallen stop sign as they passed by a completely-empty street that led right back the way they came. The poison type's long, scaly tail flicked from side to side as he looked around, and after making sure the coast was clear, he stepped out fully onto the road, sunlight shining against the stylized skull on his shirt. "But I bet that Ilima won't even be home after what went down yesterday, so we can probably think of somethin' when we get there!"

"Ehhh... you said that about the surfin' competition, and then we got totally fucked over," The Crobat said, sticking to the shade and safety of the trees despite his friend's confidence.

"We got fucked over because we thought he'd just be by himself. But we're literally the only Pokemon out here right now, dude, so no one's even gonna know what we're up to!" The Arbok replied, reaching out to lightly punch the other grunt's shoulder. "C'mon, dude, we're doin' this for Team Skull! Ilima didn't even take us seriously and you showed him who was boss, right?"

The Crobat paused, his mind flashing back to the supersonic shout he had hit the trial captain with. The thought of the smug Smeargle falling over, dazed and confused, was enough to break through the anxiety that weighed on his mind, and the purple-furred bat shook his head, grinning awkwardly at the cobra walking alongside him. "Yeah... yeah, that was pretty cool, huh?"

"Hell yeah it was!" The other Pokemon pumped his fist, then slipped his hands into his pockets, narrowing his eyes and smiling as he continued to lead the way. "So stop worryin' so damn much and take it easy, dude. We're part of Team Skull, the baddest of the bad! And we gotta make sure everyone in Alola knows it, especially Pokemon like Ilima!"

"Alright, alright, I get it, hahahah!" The Crobat laughed, raising his legs high when he felt the tall grass rising high enough to graze his knees, but he shuddered all of a sudden when he remembered how hot his clothes felt. "Still, since we're gettin' so close to Ilima's place, we oughta figure out what we wanna do before we get there, bro!"

"Yeah, yeah. The only idea I have is breakin' some windows, or we could dig up his yard and make a big mess or somethin'," The Arbok explained, narrowing his eyes when he noticed a black-shingled roof peeking up above the tops of the trees. "And speakin' of which, I think we're comin' up on it now."

"Huh?" The Crobat blinked, then craned his neck to look down the road, following his friend's gaze. "Oh, yeah, you're ri-"

Before he had even finished his sentence, his long ears pricked straight upward, twitching ever-so-slightly as they picked up some distant sound. The poison type stopped in his tracks, listening for a moment even as the other grunt kept walking – and then his eyes widened to the size of saucers, a fresh wave of nervousness welling up within him.

"Shit..." The purple-furred bat swore, twisting around to look at the road behind them, still just as empty as it had been all morning. His ears flicked again, however, and he hunched his shoulders in an anxious huff, jogging up behind his friend. "Bro, you hear that?"

"Eh?" The scaly-tailed cobra slowed down and looked over his shoulder, his hoodflaps closing again when he saw how tense the Crobat had gotten. "I haven't heard jack shit the whole time we've been walkin', that's what I've been tryin' to tell you! I know you've got good hearin' and all, but c'mon, dude, you gotta get it togeth-"

This time he was the one who didn't finish his sentence, as the Crobat abruptly grabbed his hand and ran for the shrubbery again, air rushing past his wings as he practically dragged the Arbok over to a particularly large, gnarled tree. The tall grass parted as the pair of Pokemon stepped through, and once they made it behind the heavy trunk, they both squatted down to hide.

"Dude, what is goin' on with you today!?" The Arbok grumbled, leaning hard against the tree as he tried to peek out at the street.

"Sssshshh!" The Crobat hissed at his friend to try and hush him up, trying to make himself look as small as possible, his knees pressed hard against a tree root. "Bro, shut it, someone's comin'!"

A deafening silence fell over the valley as the two Team Skull grunts hunched low behind the tree, its branches barely moving as a faint breeze finally swept in from the coast. The Crobat swallowed dryly, nervously clutching at the neck of his shirt, while the Arbok rolled his eyes in frustration and folded his arms against his chest. For a few minutes, they sat and waited...

...and then all of a sudden, there was a rumbling sound, one that got louder and louder with each passing second. The Arbok's jaw dropped when a mini-van appeared on the horizon, quickly moving in their direction, and he stared in disbelief as it rolled down the dusty road, passing them completely and, shortly after, turning off the road and towards the house.

"Oh, you've gotta be kiddin' me-!" He muttered darkly, but he clammed back up when the other grunt wagged a hand at him.

Not long after, the car turned right back out onto the street, the wheels scrunching against the tarmac as it headed back the way it came. The Arbok and Crobat both ducked a little bit lower when it passed them by again, but once it had gotten far enough away, they stood up, watching the swirls of dust the van had kicked up in its wake.

"What the hell...? Why would some idiot come all the way out here to do a u-turn?" The Arbok carefully eased his way out onto the street again, bringing an arm up to shield his eyes from the sun as he looked towards the house. The Crobat followed close behind, pulling at his shirt and fanning himself with his wings to cool off. "No way that was Ilima. Right, dude?"

"I dunno, bro," The purple-furred bat replied, slouching over a bit in an attempt to relax. "But I guess we gotta check it out anyway."

Both grunts jogged forward, and slowly, but surely, the thicket gave way to a waist-high pumice wall; the poison types both ducked behind it as soon as they got the chance, sidling up against the dark, porous stone and inching their way along. As they drew closer and closer, they could hear a medley of voices chatting among themselves, and the Arbok growled at the sound.

"Shit, now what?" He whispered, the tip of his long, scaly tail flicking this way and that, but his friend took a quick peek over the fence and gasped, making the cobra tense up. "Dude, I swear..."

"Bro, look!" The Crobat replied almost-inaudibly, nudging him with his elbow even though he already had his attention. "I-It's... it's them!"

* * *

The roar of an engine filled the air as our Ryde turned around and out of the driveway, its tires scrunching as it quickly disappeared behind the overgrown trees and bushes, taking the long road back into Verdant Town. Raising my arms, I tugged at the straps of my backpack, pulling it tighter around my checkered shirt before gazing all around the valley; craggy, ridged hills rose up in every direction, covered in yellowed grass, scars of red soil, and the occasional tree. A light, gentle wind blew over my torsofur, and I took a deep breath of the warm, fresh air.

"Sheesh," I muttered under my breath, my aura tassels sliding over my shoulders when I shook my head. "Now I get what Ilima meant by living closer to Mount... whatever he called it. It's definitely a good thing we didn't walk."

"It's such a shame it looks so dry out here right now... all the pictures in the guidebook make the town look nice and green," My partner hummed thoughtfully, and I glanced over at the Ninetales, who was idly playing with the trial amulet hanging from her own backpack. She turned around shortly after, though – her ponytail of headfur swishing from the motion – and I followed her lead, folding my arms against my blunted chestspike. "Still... Ilima certainly has a nice house, doesn't he?"

Indeed he did: in front of us sat a simple, but striking, two-story house, with a black-shingled roof, plain white walls, and large, slightly-open windows that gleamed in the sunlight, the colors standing out against the grassy knolls. The worn, dirty driveway forked where we stood, with one trail leading into a closed garage, while the other turned into a small cobblestone path that led right up to the shady porch. Our two younger teammates were already standing at the door, waiting for Rose and I to catch up: Cyan was impatiently tapping his footpaws, while Erin rocked back and forth on her heels, fiddling with the ties of her fur sleeves in the meantime.

"Well, no time like the present." I flashed my partner a cheeky grin, casually slipping my hands into my pockets and gesturing at the porch with a quick shake of my head. Rose let out a quiet 'mmhm!' of agreement, then stepped closer to affectionately wrap one of her arms around mine.

With that, the two of us strolled forward, our pawpads brushing against the smooth, flat stones as we headed over to our friends, quickly hopping up the steps and sighing once we had made it under the roof. The Samurott looked up at us when we approached, slapping his fan-shaped tail against his cargo pants once we reached the door.

"C'mon, you two need t'keep up!" Cyan barked, taking a step back and shrugging his shoulders, his hiking pack shaking and shifting from the motion. Erin giggled at her boyfriend's remark, clasping her hands behind her messenger bag, and I couldn't help but chuckle as well.

"Heh, and why are you waiting for us to let him know we're here?" I quipped right back at him, eliciting a snort from the water type, even as I reached out for the doorbell.

When I pressed my thumb again the button, a pleasant chime rang through the air, audible even from out on the porch. Not a second later, there was a muffled thump, followed by a calm, boyish voice calling out from upstairs. "Just a minute!"

I took a step back, listening to the series of footsteps as someone jogged through the house, and soon enough, the front door swung open, revealing a familiar, tan-furred Smeargle, wearing jeans and a baggy, diamond-patterned t-shirt. I couldn't help but stare at how casually he was dressed, and he stared right back at me with a confused expression, a few locks of his wavy pink headfur falling in front of his face. Then, he glanced over at Rose, then at Cyan and Erin, realization slowly dawning on him.

"Oh, it's you!" Ilima exclaimed, his floppy ears wiggling as he shook himself back to his senses and stepped out onto the porch with us, his paintbrush-shaped tail swishing around behind him. "You're here early! I wasn't expecting to see you so until later today, eheh!"

"Oh..." A blush flared onto my partner's cheeks at the beagle's remark, and she bashfully looked down at her footpaws, clasping her hands to her midriff. "Is this a bad time? We didn't realize we were interrupting you."

"No, no, it's quite alright! I got everything sorted out last night, so I'm ready to discuss your trial whenever you are," Ilima replied hastily, giving the Ninetales a reassuring smile as he glanced between the four of us again; I reached out to pat Rose's back as well, and she smiled warmly, leaning in to plant a quick peck on my cheek. We both turned back towards the trial captain when he turned back around and strolled back into the house, moving to the side to hold the door open for us. "Please, come in."

We did just that, ambling over the threshold and entering into the main hall, our footpaws going from warm stones to treated, wooden paneling in the span of a few steps. A shiver ran down my spine when cool air swept over my fur and blew through my shirt, and I folded my arms against my blunted chestspike, huddling a little closer to Rose at the sudden change in temperature. Before I got a chance to look around, though, Ilima shut the door and sidled past us, beckoning us to follow him with a quick wave of his hand.

"Here, this way," He said, combing his other hand through his headfur as he headed further into the house, and Rose, Cyan, Erin and I all did the same, passing by framed photos and whiteboards that hung from the walls. Soon enough, the hall gave way to a long, open area that seemed to be half-living room, half-dining room: some couches, chairs, and an enclosed TV cabinet stood on one side, while a dining table and some kitchen appliances decorated the other. Light streamed in from a slatted window nearby, and I watched as Ilima started up a staircase right next to it. "Go ahead and make yourselves at home. I just need to get something from upstairs real quick."

"Thanks, mister Ilima!" Erin chirped cheerfully, pushing her way to the front and sitting right down on one of the sofas, settling into the comfortable cushions. Cyan rolled his eyes, but followed the pink mink's lead all the same, reaching around to pull his hiking pack off before seating himself next to his girlfriend, who giggled. "Heehee, maybe we really should have looked for a hotel first! He looked really sleepy, huh?"

"I don't know about really sleepy, but he definitely looks like he's taking it easy this morning," I said, turning to look at the pair of younger Pokemon as I stepped into the middle of the room, taking in the stately atmosphere.

"At least he isn't angry that we're interrupting," Rose padded up behind me, a couple of her tails brushing against mine as she peered outside, raising her head and letting out a soft yawn as she gazed at the hilly countryside. "It's still a good thing we're getting this out of the way first, though. I'm sure we can ask Ilima about a good place to stay once we're all finished here."

"Heh, if I remember right, you wanted to stay in bed a little longer because you didn't want me to stop spooning you," I chuckled, flashing my partner a grin as I spoke. She twisted around, a blush rising to her cheeks at my comment, but she relaxed soon afterward, giving my backpack a smack. "I think Cyan's the only one who was raring to go this morning. You excited to hear about the trial?"

"Hmph, you bet! Between Ilima not bein' around th'other day an' then everythin' that went on yesterday, it's about time we got down t'business!" The sea lion replied, crossing his legs and shooting me a toothy smile, making his excitement crystal clear.

"I'm very glad to hear that!" Ilima's voice drifted down from above, and Rose and I both stole a glance at the Smeargle when he turned a corner and strode down the stairs, a small manila folder tucked neatly under one of his arms. "But in hindsight, I should have given you my phone number, hm?"

Rose and I hastily sat down on the other couch as the normal type walked over to us, easing into one of the chairs across from us and laying the folder on his lap. With a flip of its top, he pulled out some papers, a magnifying glass, and a marker, pulling the cap from the latter and raising his head, his paintbrush-shaped tail curling over the armrest in the meantime. Erin, on the other hand, immediately let out an 'ooh!' of surprise, planting her palms on her knees and leaning forward.

"Just a formality, I'm afraid," Ilima explained before she even got a chance to ask her question, taking the wind right out of the pink mink's sails – her whiskers drooped, but she perked up not a split-second later – and he twisted towards Rose and I, nodding professionally. "Could you give me your trial passport for a moment?"

I stared blankly, unsure of what he was talking about. Trial passport? Trial passport, trial passport... I jolted when I realized what he meant, reaching around to grab my backpack and unzipping one of the front pockets. "Oh, yeah! Yeah, we've got that. I almost forgot about it, eheh."

"Most Pokemon do, this early on." The Smeargle smiled as I dug out the hand-sized booklet and passed it over to him. Laying it flat on his folder, he opened it up to the first page and drew an invisible line in the corner. Then, he peered at the glossy paper through the magnifying glass, looking all around before closing everything back up and offering it back to me. "And everything seems to be in order, so that's good! Make sure to bring this with you during the trial, too. Once you finish it, I'll need to stamp the first page as proof."

"Got it." I grinned back at the trial captain, taking the passport and tucking it safely back inside my bag. "Basically like gym badges, I'm guessing."

"Something like that, yes," Ilima answered as he set the marker and magnifying glass aside, clasping his hands on top of his lap and resting against the back of the chair, regarding all of us with a thoughtful look. "Though I should mention, if I had it my way, I would have stamped it right here and now. I think you more than proved yourselves against Team Skull. But, rules are rules! If good deeds were enough to satisfy, I think most of us captains would be out of work."

"Oh... w-well, thank you!" Rose replied, a faint blush rising onto her cheeks at the trial captain's praise, and she brushed a few nonexistent wrinkles out of her hoodie and skirt, tapping her footpaws together as she continued. "But what is your trial, then?"

Without another word, Ilima grabbed the papers he had gathered up earlier and tapped them against his pants, making sure they were even before handing them over. Reaching out, I took the loose sheets and gave them a quick once-over: the first was a map of Melemele, with a bright red X drawn just north of the marker for Verdant Town, and the second was a photo of a steep, green hill, with a cavern visible at the very bottom. Cocking my head, I studied the scenery for a little longer, then passed both pictures over to Rose.

"Pretty place," I remarked, reaching back to keep my aura tassels from slipping in front of my shoulders. Rose hummed in agreement, looking over both papers for a little bit, then handing them over to Cyan and Erin, who had scooted to the end of their couch to peek over the Ninetales' shoulder. "So that's where you hold your trial?"

"That's right. Have you heard of Verdant Cave at all? Maybe on the news, or something?" Ilima asked, lightly twiddling his fingers against his jeans as his focus drifted around the living room. When we shook our heads, he took a deep breath, then began to explain. "It's an important landmark among residents here, since the town was built around it. Long, long long ago, wild and anthro Pokemon would go to the cave to collect water, for drinking and farming and such, and the kahunas of old would also perform ceremonies there to honor the volcano that created it, as well. Because of the groundwater, everything stays green, even during dry spells, which is how it got the name."

"Huh, no wonder I was thinkin' about home on th'way here," Cyan said, looking up at Ilima and flashing the normal type a cocky smile. Erin snatched up the photos in the meantime, fidgeting against the couch cushions as she pored over them. "I'm from Lentimas Town, so explorin' around a volcano's nothin' new t'me!"

Ilima's face lit up at the younger Pokemon's comment, and he leaned forward a bit, his baggy t-shirt sagging somewhat from the motion. "Ah, that's right! That's that town in western Unova, yes? The one near the semi-active volcano... Reversal, I think?"

"Yeah, it's Reversal Mountain!" The blue-furred sea lion answered with a nod, his rust red eyes gleaming at the Smeargle's recognition of his home.

"Well, good! Then I'm even more confident that the four of you will finish the trial without any trouble at all," The trial captain replied, suddenly looking rather sheepish as he scooted to the edge of his seat and gestured towards Erin. Her whiskers twitched when she noticed, and she giggled cheerfully before passing the papers back. "I'll be honest, the trial is more of a test to see who is truly ready for the rest of the island challenge. As I said, after everything that happened during the Puka Beach Challenge, you seem more than qualified."

"So the trial is just... to explore the cave?" Rose thought aloud, and I glanced over at the cream-furred fox when a couple of her tails brushed against my head, smiling inwardly when I saw the curious expression on her face.

"Essentially, yes. The cave has two exits, one from the street and one higher up the hillside, and your job is to reach the top from the bottom." Flipping the photos around to show us said cavern again, Ilima traced a line from the lower entrance to the upper section of the ridge, stopping once his finger was pointed almost halfway up the mountain. "There are wild Pokemon that nest in the cave, so you may have to deal with them if they're in a bad mood, but that's the only real danger."

"That's it?" We all turned our focus to Erin, who stretched her arms above her head and wiggled from side to side, letting out a hefty yawn before speaking up again. "Aaaaww... that doesn't sound very hard at all!"

"Heh, sounds like it's not supposed to be," I replied, leaning back and spreading my legs a little bit, my tail wagging once against the sofa when Rose and Cyan both nodded. "But I think Cyan's right, it sounds like it's nothing we can't handle."

"Then it's settled!" Ilima said brightly, tucking the map and photo away, then clapping his hands together and looking between the four of us. We all sat up straighter when the tan-furred beagle cleared his throat, his tone of voice turning businesslike. "I usually hold my trial around mid-morning, or in the afternoon, so just tell me which time works for you and I can start setting things up."

"Ehh... mid-morning works, I guess?" Picking my backpack up, I stood up and slowly slipped it back over my shoulders; my ears twitched when Rose let out an 'mmhm' of agreement and hopped up as well, her bust bouncing within her hoodie. Cyan and Erin followed a second later, walking over and voicing their approval as we gathered our things. "Yeah, mid-morning should work. With how excited Cyan's been about this, he'll definitely have us up by then, hah!"

"Great!" The Smeargle smiled, a few pink droplets falling from his paintbrush-shaped tail as he, too, got to his footpaws, stifling a laugh when the Samurott rolled his eyes at me. "Then I'll get to work on that, and you four can get back to your day. You must have just arrived in town, right? There isn't all that much to see here in Verdant Town, but you could always go and relax at the beach park. We don't get nearly as many tourists around here compared to in Kekona, after all."

"Mmm... you were our first stop today, actually. We haven't even looked for a hotel yet," Rose chuckled shyly, brushing a couple strands of her headfur out of her face as she spoke. "I think it might be nice to have a beach day after we finish the trial, though! It would be a nice reward, hehehe."

"Well, if that's the case, there's always the... er, 'specialty beaches' just north of the cave..." Ilima blushed, ever-so-slightly, when he paused, and I quirked an eyebrow upward when he hastily stepped around and headed back down the front hall. My muzzle curled into a knowing grin when I mulled the words over in my head, however, and I tugged at the straps of my backpack, feeling my trial amulet jostle and shake against my checkered shirt. "But yes, go and get yourselves settled in first. Tomorrow will be a big day!"

"Hmph, already lookin' forward to it!" Cyan said, slapping his fan-shaped tail against his pants as he stomped his way after the trial captain, the sound of his footsteps reverberating off of the walls all along the way. Erin laughed, her tied fur sleeves swishing around as she threw her arms in the air and followed after her boyfriend.

Slipping a hand into my pocket, I took a step forward and pulled out my phone, flipping the red case open and powering it on. Before I could thumb for the Ryde app, though, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist, and I relaxed somewhat when Rose combed her fingers through my torsofur. Our two younger teammates continued to chat with Ilima in the meantime, their voices breaking the otherwise pleasant silence that fell over the living-dining room.

"It's been a week since we met with Professor Kukui," She said all of a sudden, and I peeked over my shoulder, watching the fire type rest her chin on my shoulder.

"It has?" I furrowed my brow in thought: we had met with the professor, then left... then we got to Momi City, and then spent two full days in Kekona... Taking a deep breath, I tilted my head to nuzzle my partner, and she hugged me tighter in response. "Doesn't feel like it's been that long at all."

"Mm-mm," Rose grunted in response, shaking her head, and after a couple seconds, she let go of me, easing around until she stood at my side. "We've had a couple bumps in the road, but I think the island challenge is going pretty well so far, isn't it?"

"Yeah, definitely. Little surprised the first trial's so simple, but I'm not complaining." Reaching out, I affectionately tousled the Ninetales' headfur, fluffing her ponytail a few times and scratching just behind one of her ears. She gladly leaned into my touch, her smile widening for a moment before she stepped away to smooth things back out. As she did, I playfully stuck my tongue out, my tail wagging back and forth. "Maybe after we drop our stuff off, we can go and check out that 'specialty beach' Ilima mentioned, heheheh."

She blushed again, this time much redder, but before she could reply, Erin yelled at us from the other end of the hallway, making us both jump in surprise. "Biiiill, Rooose, what's taking so looong?"

"Sorry, I'm just calling our Ryde back!" I called back, quickly focusing back on my phone and tapping a few buttons until Ilima's house popped up on the map. Smiling confidently, I looked at Rose and nodded, my aura tassels bumping against my backpack. "Ready to go?"

Smiling back at me, the cream-furred fox nodded, gingerly taking my hand in hers and leading the way down the hall. "Alright, we're coming!"

* * *

"Shiiiiiiit..." A quiet hiss escaped the Arbok's throat as he just barely peeked through the slats of the dining room window, watching the group of Pokemon slowly get up from their seats. He couldn't help but ogle the Lucario and Ninetales, gazing up and down the latter's curvy figure despite the anger that was welling up within him. Taking a deep breath, he spat at the ground, his forked tongue flicking as he spoke. "Dude, look at the tits on this bitch!"

"No kiddin', bro," The Crobat replied, only half-paying attention to the other grunt's remarks as he leaned in close to the glass pane, his long ears pointing skyward as he eavesdropped on the group's conversation. The sun continued to beat down on his clothes, and he shuddered unpleasantly, pulling at the neck of his shirt again to stay cool. "Too bad she and those other guys are takin' the island challenge instead of bein' on our side."

The mention of the island challenge sent a wave of tension through the purple-scaled cobra, but a split-second later, he and his friend clammed up when they heard the front door creak open, followed by the sound of exchanged goodbyes. Scooting lower underneath the window, the pair shuffled a short ways away from the front of Ilima's house, scuffing their knees against the short-cut grass as they fled to the back corner of the building. Once they were safely out of sight and out of earshot, the Arbok sat down in the trial captain's backyard, glaring at the hills rising up in the distance.

"So what do we do now, bro?" The Crobat asked, rolling his shoulders and flapping his wings a couple times. "We can't pull any funny business while Ilima's here... what are we gonna tell Big Sam?"

The other poison type didn't reply at first, his hoodflaps opening wide as he continued to stare at the valley, his mind still lingering on the strange bunch of Pokemon that had screwed everything up the day before. In a huff, he curled his hands into fists – his fingertips digging tightly into his palms – and jumped up, twisting around and gesturing at the street with a quick punch.

"Hmph, I'll tell you what we're gonna do, dude," He said, a mean smirk curling onto the cobra's face as he stared at the empty, dusty road. The Crobat looked up at him in the meantime, furrowing his brow in confusion. "As soon as those bozos leave and we're in the clear, we're gonna head right back to the hideout, get all our shit together, and then go to Verdant Cave."

"Eh?" Standing up, the Crobat cocked his head, feeling even more confused as he walked up behind the other grunt. "Why are we goin' to Verdant Cave?"

The Arbok couldn't help but roll his eyes, turning back to look at his friend and pointing straight at the dining room window. "Because now we know that Ilima isn't really the one who screwed with us, got it? Those two assholes who chased us down yesterday are takin' the island challenge, and where are they and their friends gonna be tomorrow?"

That was enough to get the ball rolling, and the Crobat's eyes widened when his friend's point finally sank in. "B-But are you sure messin' up their trial's a good idea? Big Sam asked us to-"

"I know she asked us to get revenge on Ilima, but that was before we know who we were dealin' with here," The Arbok shot back, raising his voice just a tad, then immediately hunching his shoulders, taking a furtive glance around to make sure that nobody had heard him. When nobody came looking for them, he let out a sigh and shook his head, his hoodflaps closing back up. "Look, the boss hates every single thing about the island challenge, not just the trial captains, right? So I bet he'd be just as happy with us goin' and fuckin' with their trial, same way they fucked with us. They're the ones we got beef with, not Ilima!"

"You think..." The Crobat trailed off for a moment, lightly kicking at the dirt as he looked over the overgrown trees and grass on the other side of the road, his ears twitching ever-so-slightly as a soft breeze blew past the house. "You think we'd get to go back home if we did, bro?"

"No shit he'd let us come back, dude!" The Arbok smiled a full, genuine smile – now the other Pokemon's behavior made sense. Reaching out, he clapped his hands onto the bat's shoulders and gave him a firm stare. "You know how the boss gets whenever the island challenge comes up! He's all 'Hala' this, and 'tapu' that. If we mess their trial up good, I bet Big Sam'll ask us to come right back, and we won't have to go anywhere for a long-ass time!"

"Yeah... yeah!" The Crobat smiled, then grinned toothily, his expression going from its usual nervousness to one of renewed determination. Raising his arms high, the poison type flapped his wings a few times to pump himself up. "Now you're talkin'! I bet I could just yell those two into the dirt, just like I did with Ilima! Heh, that'll show 'em. That'll show them and the boss who's boss!"

The Arbok's smile morphed into a wicked smirk at the idea, and he nodded encouragingly, letting go of his friend and folding his arms against his Team Skull shirt. Soon after, a rumbling noise rang out through the air, and the pair of grunts both glanced at the other end of the yard, listening as a car pulled into the driveway. Hunching low, the Arbok slunk his way over to the window again, just in time to see a mini-van back out and head back down the road to Verdant Town. The Crobat followed close behind him, and together they peeked out from the front yard, watching as the vehicle got further and further away.

"Yeah," The Arbok repeated, reaching a hand up to the Crobat, who clapped it right back. "They better be ready tomorrow. Ready for us!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written October 2018)
> 
> Team Skull is probably one of Sun and Moon's strongest elements, if you ask me. The idea of Alola having this underbelly of sad delinquents struggling to get by is a nice contrast to the idyllic tropical-paradise setting, and they're both hilariously pathetic and sympathetic, but they still make bad decisions enough to make them antagonistic. I've tried to get all of that across through Bro and Dude (if you will)'s interactions and scenes, and with how they present themselves in general. They're blatantly horny, but in a more debauchery-ish way; they swear a lot, but it makes them seem more immature rather than cool or edgy; they cause trouble, but their lack of foresight or tendency to panic means they usually end up screwing themselves over. They've got some similarities to Bill, Rose, Cyan and Erin, but they're also very distinctly different in mindset.
> 
> It might seem weird that I put this much thought into "haha horny furry story", but make no mistake, as much as I enjoy porn and such, character interactions and worldbuilding are my two favorite things to write. :V


	8. Versus Villains in Verdant Cave!

"Phew...!" Erin let out a heavy exhale, her messenger bag swinging and smacking against her backside as she jogged forward, her footpaws thumping against the sun-warmed concrete. Raising her head high, the pink mink scrunched her face up as she scanned across the sky, her yellow tank top shining in the morning sunlight. "Are we there yet?"

"Almost, Erin!" I glanced over at Rose when she spoke up, watching my partner jump in surprise, then turning to look at the Mienshao, who happily ran further ahead. The Ninetales sighed softly, flipping the guidebook closed and holding it close to her chest, her hoodie and skirt ruffling as a faintly-salty breeze swept in from the ocean. "The cave's supposed to be an hour's walk from town, so we have to be getting close..."

"Hmph, sounds good t'me!" A muscular Samurott pushed his way between us a second later, his hiking pack shaking and jostling against his back as he ran after his girlfriend, his body hunched and the horn on his shell helmet pointed high. "Hold up, Erin, don't get too far ahead-!"

Taking a deep breath of my own, I slipped my hands into the pockets of my jeans and ambled after the two younger Pokemon, the loose ends of my checkered shirt fluttering against my wrists all the while. As Cyan and Erin led the way, I let my eyes wander around the open road, going from the sparkling sea to our left, to the rest of the mountain range rising up on the right. Layer after layer of chunky, grassy lava rock formed a steep, ridged slope that continued far off into the distance, getting greener and greener the further away it went.

"Well, if we find the nude beach, we'll know we passed the cave somehow," I quipped dryly, the thought sending a quiver through my nerves, not to mention my sheath. Rose hummed in response, her cheeks reddening modestly, and I grinned before sidling closer and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, pulling the cream-furred fox in close.

"I think we'll know before we get that far..." She started to say, only to trail off before she could finish, and the fire type leaned forward somewhat, her attention seemingly caught on something in the distance. A moment later, Rose's expression brightened, and she gently raised one of her arms up above her head, waving happily. "Wait, look, there's Ilima! We made it!"

Sure enough, Cyan and Erin were running towards the aforementioned Smeargle, who was standing just a few yards away, his regular brown vest and white pants making him plainly visible against the dry brush. He was standing near a knee-high barrier just to the side of the road, and Rose and I quickly made our way over, gladly stepping from the street to the soil. The tan-furred beagle perked up as we drew near, his paintbrush-shaped tail wagging behind him.

"Good morning!" The trial captain greeted us with a bright, professional smile, reaching into a fanny pack hanging from his waist even as he spoke. "Ready to get started?"

"Ready as we'll ever be!" Cyan said with an eager nod, folding his arms against his tank top and glancing to the side, his brow furrowing. "So this is th'cave you were talkin' about, huh?"

I turned to follow the Samurott's gaze, then started in surprise, slowly craning my neck to look further and further up: there, right in front of us, was a massive hole in the side of the mountain, rising at least ten or fifteen feet above our heads. It was a perfect match for the picture we had seen the day before, but the gap was carved at such a angle that kept it hidden unless you came from the north, with the only other clue to its existence being the shadowed, weathered trail that led inside. The wind picked up in strength as I looked Verdant Cave over, blustering past the entrance and ruffling my shirt.

"Heh, good thing you were here, or else we probably would have missed it," I chuckled, turning around again to face Ilima, who was staring intently at the tablet he had pulled from his bag, his fingers dancing across the virtual keyboard.

"Indeed. That's part of why I chose it as the site for my trial," He replied, typing for a little bit longer before dropping his arms back to his sides, looking from me, to Rose, to Cyan and Erin. "Now, just to recap what we went over yesterday, your trial is to make your way through Verdant Cave and reach the upper exit. This is a test of how well you handle yourselves in a wild environment, as well as a test of your teamwork."

"Mmhm," Rose hummed in agreement, reaching back to grab at her ponytail of headfur, which was whipping about in the wind. "What happens when we reach the upper part of the cave? Will you be waiting for us there?"

"No, but there's another trail that leads back to the road... it's a bit steep, but otherwise perfectly safe. I'll be waiting at the top of that trail, so once you make it out, I'll stamp your trial passport," The Smeargle said, gesturing somewhere further down the street with a shake of his head, his floppy ears bumping against his cheeks from the motion. "Are you all ready?"

The four of us paused at that, gathering together and giving ourselves a quick once-over as we took one last moment to get ourselves mentally prepared; Rose swung her backpack around to put the guidebook away, while Cyan cracked his knuckles and Erin rocked back and forth on her heels. I just stretched, leaning from side to side and hopping up and down on the tips of my footpaws, making sure I was limbered up. Once we were all finished, I took a step towards the cave, determination surging through my nerves.

"Yeah, I think we're ready," I said, eliciting a chorus of 'mmhm's and 'yeah!'s from the others.

"Very well then... er-hem-" Ilima cleared his throat. "Trial... start!"

When the trial captain's voice rang out, we kicked off, our footpaws thumping against the dirt as we dashed into the yawning shadows and vanished from sight.

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! Versus Villains in Verdant Cave!**

* * *

A stale, musty scent filled the air, wafting past our noses and sinking into our fur as we stepped through the cavern, sunlight still shining in from the entrance, though it was fading fast. The volcanic rock got smoother and smoother with each and every step we took, going from brown to a mottled greyish-black, and I leaned forward slightly as my vision adjusted to the shadows. I jolted in surprise when something brushed against my heels – and then I sighed when I felt Rose take my hand, moving sideways a little to keep her from bumping into me.

"I guess it's only really verdant on the outside..." The cream-furred fox thought aloud, daintily walking up to my side and gazing all around, unable to hide her curiosity. "I wonder how deep the cave goes? If we have to climb up to a higher level, then it'll have to open up eventually..."

"Seems pretty open already to me." I gesturing up at the ceiling – which we couldn't even see because it was so dark – then opened my palm and concentrated, shivering at the surge of energy that pulsed through my nerves. Not a second later, my aura swirled together, forming a small, blue sphere that cast a gentle glow throughout the tunnel. "Still, we'd better keep our eyes peeled."

Cyan and Erin both nodded in agreement, the latter letting out an excited coo as I lifted my hand above my head. As the conversation trailed off, the four of us hiked through the cavern in silence, with only the sounds of distant wind and dripping water to keep us company. Pebbles and stray bits of rock were scattered across the floor, crumbling to dust under our footpaws, and I brought my free hand up to the wall, lightly dragging my fingers along the stone. Taking a few extra steps forward, I led the way into the depths of the mountain, keeping my gaze focused on the path ahead of us.

I was so focused, in fact, that when I felt something small, wet, and cold dropped right between my ears, I jolted in surprise, my muscles tensing up as I snapped my head from side to side in search of whatever had fallen on me. My aura sphere flickered slightly, and I blinked when I noticed it glinting off of the walls, which were suddenly coated in a damp sheen. Quickly realizing what was up, I twisted around to look at the others.

"Careful, we're getting water-bombed," I called out, my ears flicking a couple times as my voice echoed through the cave, and, as if on cue, another droplet plummeted from the darkness and fell right on my muzzle. I grimaced as a chill sank into my fur, and I reached up to scratch at my nose, trying in vain to make the sensation go away.

"Huh-?" Rose opened her mouth to ask what I meant, but before she even got a chance to speak, she recoiled in surprise, scrunching one of her ruby red eyes shut with a gasp. "Agh-!"

I couldn't help but wince at that, and I hastily strode over to my partner, who reached up to rub at her face, her tails curling and uncurling behind her. Cyan jerked his head upward when yet another drop plinked against his shell helmet, and I waited until we were all gathered together before heading forward again, still keeping my aura sphere raised high. Erin giggled happily, staring up at the inky blackness above our heads.

"I can't believe how huge this place is!" The Mienshao exclaimed, her messenger bag bouncing against her hips as she hopped up and down excitedly. Despite her aching eye, Rose couldn't help but laugh at the younger girl's enthusiasm, and I found myself grinning as well. "I wonder if we'll ever see the ceiling at all, heeheehee!"

"Y'know, I packed a flashlight in here somewhere!" Cyan said, and we all turned to look at the water type, who gave us all a stern stare before thumbing towards the top of his hiking pack, which rested comfortably against the back of his neck. "Why don't I jus' get th'thing out now an' we can figure out where th'heck we are?"

I stopped for a moment to consider the idea, but Rose was quicker on the draw, shaking herself back to her senses before reaching into her skirt pocket. "Actually... let me try something first, and if it doesn't work, then go ahead, Cyan."

The Ninetales pulled her phone out, powered it on, and swiped across the screen, the bright backlight shining against the white fabric of her hoodie. Bringing her arm up, she tapped a button and the camera light flashed on, casting a much, much stronger beam out in front of us. Her eyes widened, while Cyan and Erin both raised their heads a little bit higher, and I looked over my shoulder – and then inhaled deeply.

We were just a few steps away from walking into a large, open room, the walls giving way to a craggy clearing, with patches of moss and shallow puddles strewn about the area. A hefty bluff rose up at the end of the room, the glow of the phone-light reflecting off the grooves and bumps jutting out here and there. Slowly, we took those few steps forward, a sudden chill sweeping over us as we entered into the underground chamber, gazing around in awe at the size of the room. The light from Rose's phone cut through the shadows, but it still couldn't reach the top.

"Woah..." I breathed out, still taking it all in even as I lowered my arm, holding my aura sphere close to my chest. After a second or two, I finally found my words, my aura tassels sliding against my backpack when I shook my head. "Man... I didn't think it'd be like... like this."

"Definitely lookin' familiar to me!" Cyan shot back with more than a little pride in his voice. "I bet we were walkin' through a lava tube jus' now, or somethin' like that!"

"But with such a high ceiling?" Rose pondered, craning her neck to look at the top of the cliff as she spoke, a couple strands of her headfur falling in front of her face. Her phone-light glistened against the rounded edges of the rock, and I scanned from side to side; the ledge seemed to be part of a passage in and of itself, going in both directions. Peering around, I noticed some other tunnels carved into the walls, probably heading into other parts of the cave system.

"And all the water, too!" Erin added, her short tail swishing as she jogged over to one of the puddles on the floor. Scooping up a small pebble along the way, she casually dropped it into the water, sending ripples across its clear, clean surface. "Oooh, maybe there's a big spring under here and that's where it all comes from!"

"Maybe we can ask Ilima once we get out of here, heheheh," I chuckled, focusing back on the wall in front of us, my eyes going from foothold to foothold. Cupping my hands together, my aura sphere dissipating, and a split-second later, the same blue glow surrounded my pawspikes, a pair of metal claws sprouting out from them. "It looks like there's another tunnel up there, though, so let me see if I can climb up and-"

"Well, well, look what we got here!"

I stopped in my tracks as the blunt remark rang out, drifting down from the bluff and making us all tense up in confusion, Rose's fur bristling, Cyan reaching for his seamitars, and Erin bouncing away from the puddles of water. Soon afterward, a series of footsteps echoed softly, and I could just barely see a pair of figures march their way out from the corridor, difficult to see with what little light we had. I cautiously eased back until I was standing next to Rose, and the cream-furred fox and I watched the two unknown Pokemon slow to a stop and stand side by side.

"They sure took their time gettin' here, eh, bro?" Another voice rang out, this one quieter and less rough. "Maybe they're havin' second thoughts about the island challenge after all, hahah!"

"Heh, if they weren't, they're gonna be once we're done with 'em!" The other Pokemon replied to his friend with a scratchy laugh of his own. Rose scooted a little closer to me, her nine tails brushing against my own as she lifted her phone to shine her flashlight on the pair. "You got a lot of nerve, tryin' to mess with us like you did! Now it's time we taught you a lesson!"

The two figures fidgeted for a moment, their clothes audibly ruffling, and soon enough, another phone turned on, illuminating the figures from below. Rose gasped in surprise, and I clenched my teeth when I saw the stylized skulls emblazoned on the Arbok and Crobat's shirts, the former's long, scaly tail and the latter's thin, winged arms coming clearer into view. "You two...!"

"Yeah, that's right! Team Skull!" Both grunts, as if on cue, began to do the same gang-sign-esqe dance that they had done back in Kekona City, their phone's flashlight going up and down, from their heads to their legs, as they did so. The Arbok took a step forward, his sharp eyes shooting us an angry glare. "You and your miss tits over there got a lotta nerve, ruinin' our best chance at gettin' outta here! We could've been back home, gettin' nice and cozy with Big Sam, but noooo, you two just had to get in the way because you wanted to play hero or somethin'!"

"Yeah, and then we find out you're takin' the island challenge, too!" The Crobat said, his mouth curled into a weirdly smug smirk that wobbled even as he leaned forward to stare at us. "But there's no way you're finishin' this trial now! Once the boss hears that we fucked you guys up good, he'll be callin' us back to Ula'ula in no time!"

The pair of Pokemon both threw their heads back and laughed, turning away for a moment to give each other a high-five. As they did, I curled my hands tight, dark thoughts swirling into my mind as I dug my fingertips into my palms. For being criminals, they sure did act chummy. "And what are you going to do then, eh? Throw rocks at us? Spit poison, maybe?"

"Bill, don't provoke them-!" Rose jabbed her elbow into my side, and the anger drained away, just as quickly as it had come. I glanced over at my partner, giving her a grateful nod as I shook myself back to my senses, but it was still too little too late, as the Team Skull grunts had stopped laughing, no doubt because of what I'd said.

"Hmph, as if," The Arbok glowered, stepping back towards the wall and raising his arms behind his hoodflaps, the light from his phone casting a harsh glow onto his purple scales. "Hit 'em, dude!"

The Crobat nodded at his friend before taking a few deep breaths, and I perked up when I heard Cyan whisper urgently to us. "Cover your ears!"

"What?" I replied, stealing a quick glance at the Samurott, but he simply ducked his head low and braced himself, Rose and Erin doing the same shortly after. Looking back at the Team Skull grunts, I stared... and then I saw the Crobat rear back.

I hastily brought my hands up, my metal claws dissipating as I flattened my ears against my skull just in the nick of time – the purple-furred bat opened his mouth as wide as he could, a familiar, ear-splitting screech erupting from his throat. I could see the sound waves emanating from his jaws even in the darkness, and as the scream echoed off the walls, I shuddered, desperately pressing my palms against my forehead when I felt my head start to rattle. A cacophony of noise filled the cavern, ringing over and over again; Rose doubled over, clasping her phone to her hoodie, and I resisted the urge to reach out and comfort her.

After a good four seconds, the Crobat stopped, letting his shoulders slump and easing away from the edge of the cliff; the supersonic attack echoed across the room for a little longer, and it was only when the pair of Pokemon started laughing at us again that I carefully dropped my arms down to my sides. My vision still shook, ever-so-slightly, as I got my bearings, and as I felt my disorientation start to fade, I heard Erin mumble incoherently, followed by Cyan quickly trudging over and asking if she was okay.

"Hahaaaaah, yeah, that's right!" I shook my head, aura tassels sweeping over my backpack, and glared at the Team Skull grunts. The Arbok grinned, gesturing around the chamber before shaking his head. "Nowhere to run for you guys now! Even if you head down of the other tunnels, you can't outrun a scream like that!"

"Yeah, so give up and get out!" The Crobat added, folding his winged arms against his shirt and glaring right back at us. "Or else I'm gonna keep hittin' you with supersonic 'til you-"

A squeak suddenly interrupted the poison type, and we watched as a wild, lavender Pokemon fluttered out of the shadows, chittering to itself as it flew towards the light coming from the Arbok's phone. The tiny thing flapped its wings hard to stay aloft, while the two grunts stared dumbly at it.

"Bro... what the hell is that?" The Crobat asked nervously, all traces of his earlier smugness having vanished.

"I dunno, dude, one of those wild bats everyone back home hates!" The Arbok replied, trying to act casual despite his obvious annoyance. "C'mon, shoo, shoo!"

He reached his hands out and swatted at the wild Pokemon... and it let out a high-pitched squeal of surprise. Before any of us could even react, another Noibat swooped down next to the first, followed by another, and then another... and before long, the Team Skull grunts were staring down what looked like an entire swarm of the fuzzy, large-eared bats.

"B-Bro, why're they lookin' at us!?" The Crobat stammered, his head swinging this way and that as he tried not to panic. At the sound of his voice, one of the flying types glided forward and bonked its head hard into the anthro Pokemon's face, and the other bat teetered backwards somewhat, only for a second Noibat to slam into his arm. "Ow!"

"Shit, what the-!" The Arbok swore, twisting around when he saw his friend moving away, but he didn't even get a chance to finish as a couple Noibat flew at him next. "Ow! Fuckin', get away!"

I sucked in a breath as the two of them began swinging blindly at the wild Pokemon, yelling and swearing and staggering away from the edge of the bluff. A soft 'oh no...' from Rose pulled me back to reality, however, and I turned to glance at the cream-furred fox, who was aiming her phone-light up at the higher ledge, a shocked expression on her face. Cyan and Erin had fully recovered by now, too, and I hastily leaned over to check on them, cracking a grin when I saw the Samurott holding the Mienshao close to his side.

"You guys alright?" I asked, raising my voice just a tad so I could be heard above the racket that came from up above.

"I-I'm okay..." Rose said, giving me a short, shaky smile before focusing back on Team Skull, her nine tails curling up against her back as her mouth drooped into a worried frown. "What are those Noibat doing to them up there...?"

"Whatever they're doing, at least we aren't getting yelled at anymore, heeheehee!" Erin replied with a giggle, though her hunched shoulders and drooping whiskers betrayed her anxiousness. "C'mon, c'mon, let's go before they can do anything else!"

"Yeah." I nodded, sidling over to my partner and grabbing her free hand, giving it a squeeze to get her attention. She spun on her heels, her ponytail of headfur swishing through the air as she looked at me. "I saw a few other tunnels to the sides earlier. Can you take the lead?"

The Ninetales nodded, gazing around the room, sweeping her phone from west to east. I narrowed my eyes as the beam of her flashlight panned all across the chamber, reflecting and glaring off the walls, but when I heard another squeak of surprise come from above, a prickle of dread rolled down my spine. I could still somewhat see the cliff out of the corner of my vision, and I looked just a tad higher:

A few – no, a whole bunch of the Noibat had noticed us, splitting off from the rest of the colony and dipping into a dive.

"Oh boy," I muttered dryly, pressing one hand against Rose's back and gesturing at our two younger teammates with the other, grimacing as the group of wild Pokemon flew towards us. "Run!"

* * *

"Ahh..." Ilima let out a mild sigh as he pushed his way through a patch of tall grass, his fanny pack bumping against his hip and his floppy ears brushing against his cheeks. The warm mid-morning wind swept across the island, and the Smeargle ducked his head when he felt it gust past him, twisting around just in time to watch the tall grass sway in the breeze. He couldn't help but smile as he gazed around the countryside – even though he had only just started up the trail, he had gotten far enough to appreciate the view. "It really is perfect weather for a trial, isn't it?"

Turning toward the tall, craggy mountain again, he continued to climb, carefully stepping over bits of stone and hiking across the worn, packed soil. The normal type slowly traced a line up the rising trail until his gaze landed on a large hole punched into the ravine, and his smile widened at the sight of Verdant Cave's upper entrance.

It faltered, however, when he saw the brush rustling rather conspicuously, followed by a brief flash of movement. Pausing mid-stride, Ilima furrowed his brow, a quiver running down his spine when a quiet noise drifted past his ears, carried on the wind.

"Man, fuck this, dude, fuck this!"

"C-C'mon, bro, let's get the fuck outta here!"

An Arbok and a Crobat abruptly burst into view, wildly swinging their arms back and forth as they made a mad dash out of the thicket, their expressions frenzied and their voices panicked. As they hurtled down the mountainside, Ilima blanched, his paintbrush-shaped tail wagging when he saw the familiar black shirts and heard their familiar nicknames.

"You two!?" He blurted out, but the pair didn't even stop even as they got close; the tan-furred beagle had to hastily dive out of the way to avoid getting bowled over, landing in the grass with a short grunt. "Ergh-!"

Quickly picking himself back up, Ilima turned and watched as the two grunts ran down the trail, a flurry of purple fur and scales that made a beeline for the road down below. Scowling deeply, the Smeargle dug his footpaws into the dirt, ready to chase after the pair of Pokemon – only for the weight of his fanny pack to remind him why he was out here in the first place.

"Shoot... of course they'd pick now of all times to show their faces, when I'm in the middle of business..." Ilima grumbled under his breath, his anger deflating with every word, and he glanced over his shoulder at Verdant Cave, the gears in his head starting to turn when he remembered the trial. "But if they were up there this whole time, then..."

Realization hit the trial captain like a truck, and he whirled around in full, breaking into a brisk jog up the mountainside.

* * *

The four of us scrambled through the tunnel, Team Skull's yelling having quickly been replaced by the chirping and chittering of the Noibat as they chased after us. The openness of the chamber from earlier had given way to another long passageway, this one much more claustrophobic thanks to the lower ceiling. Rose held on to her phone as tightly as she could, the flashlight's beam wavering and wobbling from her movements.

"Th'next time we run into those two idiots, I'm goin' t'kick their asses!" I glanced over at Cyan when he growled in frustration. "Can't even fight in here 'cause o'how cramped it is!"

"Look on the bright side," I started to speak, but stopped when I felt my chest ache, ever-so-slightly. Bringing a hand up, I rubbed my palm around my blunted chestspike, hoping the effort would soothe my lungs. "You won't... have to sharpen your seamitars when we get back to the hotel, right?"

"Wait, look!" Rose exclaimed, and we both perked up. "Up ahead!"

Sure enough, when I looked forward, I could see the faint shape of a small grotto coming up, the tunnel splitting into two inside: one path headed even deeper into the cave, but the flashlight reflected off of the other passage, which formed a steep ramp, heading upwards.

"We need t'take th'one that's goin' higher!" Cyan said, without even missing a beat. "If these're all lava tubes, then we might end up back in th'magma chamber, or maybe we'll find th'way out!"

"I'm glad you know your volcanos, heh," I chuckled, then hissed sharply when I felt a strain in my muscles, and I furrowed my brow, forcing myself to concentrate on the slope ahead in an attempt to ignore the pain. "Let's go!"

Without another word, we all sprinted into the room, crumbs and pebbles scrunching noisily down the incline as we hiked up the pathway. Rose's phone-light shined brightly on the walls ahead, revealing a slight turn to the rising tunnel, and I reached up to grip my backpack's straps, feeling my trial amulet swinging all about the further we climbed.

After a minute more, the confines of the tunnel began to open up again, the walls spreading out, the ceiling rising bit by bit. A wave of relief swept through me as the claustrophobic atmosphere started to give way... and then we ran into another small grotto, splashing through puddles as we skidded to a stop. A loud clap rang through the air when my palms smacked against the damp, blotchy stones, and I crashed face-first into the opposite end of the room. The others didn't fare much better: Rose turned sideways and slammed next to me, while Cyan and Erin lost their balance, their bags scuffing against the rocky floor as they toppled over.

"Aghh..." I pushed away from the wall after taking a moment to catch my breath, my hands still faintly numb from the impact. "You... you guys okay?"

"N-Nngh... I-I'm, I'm alright..." My partner answered tiredly, gently stumbling away from the wall before brushing her bangs out of her face... and then her eyes widened in horror as she panned around. "But... w-wait, there's no way out of here!"

The Ninetales' remark made my fur stand on end, and I swiveled around, looking this way and that. Just as she said, the entire room was one big dead end, a small, if airy, chamber which was riddled with cracks and pinprick holes. Erin was still recovering from her fall, crawling on her hands and knees in the corner, while Cyan had already rolled onto his back and was sitting up, looking just as alarmed as we were.

"What th'hell!? That doesn't make any sense!" The water type stared at the walls, scratching at his mustache as he took in our surroundings. "Th'tube turned around an' everythin'! Look harder, this room has t'be connected with th'other magma chamber somehow-"

"Here!" Erin's voice rang through the air before her boyfriend had even finished talking, and we all looked over at the pink mink – whose arm was waving at us through a hole in the wall, beckoning us to come over to her. "We can crawl through here!"

Rose wasted no time in heading over to the corner, shining her flashlight against the wall, and I followed right after her, kneeling down and peering through the gap in the wall. Erin looked back at us with a hopeful grin, and I briefly gave the hole a once-over. Its edges were just as smooth and rounded as the rest of the cavern was, and while it was definitely large enough to crawl through, it wasn't much more than that.

"You and I could probably get through if we lay on our sides..." Rose said, and I twisted around, hunching even lower until the loose ends of my shirt touched the ground.

"Well, only one way to find out." Reaching one arm forward, I quickly started dragging myself through the hole, tensing up when I felt the grit and grime scrape against my fur.

Thankfully, my partner's suggestion was right; my backpack narrowly grazed the sides of the gap, and after a couple seconds, I had fully pulled myself through. Without the light from Rose's phone, I had to blink a few times to get my vision to re-adjust to the darkness, and once it did, I flopped onto my back, staring past my crotch at the hole in the wall.

"Okay, I'm clear!" I called out, hopping up to my footpaws and dusting myself off as I spoke, and I raised an arm and concentrated, channeling my aura as best I could. Energy surged within me, and another aura sphere formed in the palm of my hand, shedding the same soft, blue light. Looking around, I nodded when I noticed Erin kneeling next to me, dirty-faced but still smiling. "This looks like the right way!"

"Alright..." Rose replied, but didn't come through at first, instead pausing for a moment on the other side of the wall. "Cyan, c'mon!"

"Alright, alright, I'm comin'!" The Samurott barked in response, and I heard him march over to my partner. There was another pause... and then a thud, followed by something dry, brown and smooth being shoved into the gap. "Bill, Erin, pull that through for me! There's no way I'd be able t'get through while I'm wearin' it!"

We did just that, grabbing the corners of the bag and pulling with all our might. The heavy pack didn't even budge at first, but we dug our heels in and tugged harder... and slowly, but surely, it started to shift. My ears flicked when I faintly heard Rose and Cyan grunting on the other side of the wall, and after a second or two more, the bag scrunched loudly against the rocks, then slid through the rest of the gap without much trouble.

"Woaa-aaah-!" Erin yelped as we both stumbled back a ways, then let go, and I hastily ran back over to the hole to light the way. The younger Pokemon let out an energetic laugh, then jogged over as well, her short tail twitching. "Okaaay, it's through!"

"Y'don't have t'shout, y'know!" A sharply-pointed horn poked through the hole, followed by the rest of Cyan himself as he swiftly clawed towards us.

The squeaking of the wild Noibat echoed in from the other room, almost loud enough to overpower Cyan's grumbling, and I knelt down in front of the gap, my aura sphere flickering as I tried to keep focused. There was a brief shuffling, followed by the telltale tap of Rose's phone as she turned her flashlight off, and when her hands reached through, I let my aura sphere fade, grabbed my partner's hands, and held on tight.

"Quick... I can hear them coming...!" She panted breathlessly, wriggling around as she crawled her way into the tunnel with us. My heart pounded in my chest as the cream-furred fox spoke, and I carefully took a step back, helping to pull her through the hole.

Once her footpaws cleared the gap, we both slumped together against the wall – and mere moments later, the group of Noibat swarmed into the dead end room, their loud cries and the sound of their fluttering wings drifting through the gap in the wall. Without the lights to track us, however, all they did was circle around the room; if the fork in the road from earlier had confused them, then there was no way they'd be able to find the crawlspace... or at least, I hoped so.

For a while, we all huddled together in the darkness, taking deep, ragged gulps of air as the strain of the long chase settled over us. Sharp pangs jolted through my legs, and I reached up to scratch at my blunted chestspike again, letting my head fall against Rose's shoulder. The swarm of wild Noibat continued to squeak their heads off right next door, but after a minute or so, they finally lost interest, the mess of noise steadily fading into the distance. As soon as it did, we all let out a mutual sigh of relief, which cut through the tension like a hot knife through butter.

"Never a dull moment." Sitting up, I brushed my aura tassels back behind my shoulders and gazed down the tunnel, just barely able to make out the shape of the floor. "We'd better keep going. No lights this time, just in case."

Rose, Cyan and Erin all nodded in agreement, too tired to reply, and the four of us slowly got up, giving ourselves one last checkup before trekking forward. The faint dripping of water and the low, howling wind was almost soothing after everything else that had happened, and when I felt my partner squeeze my hand, I reflexively squeezed back.

Soon enough, one of the walls seemed to disappear, letting a blast of cold, humid air sweep over our wrinkled clothes and matted fur, and I glanced over to the side. One of my eyebrows quirked upward when I saw the floor drop off, and I craned my neck to get a better look, practically squinting as I peered into the shadowy depths of the... depths of the cavern?

"Hey," I whispered, slowing to a stop. "Cyan, is this that big room from before?"

"Eh?" The younger Pokemon grunted, stomping over and looking down alongside me, and he crossed his arms, drumming his fingers against his shell armguards. "Hrm... kinda looks like it, yeah!"

"But where'd Team Skull go?" Erin asked, and I looked around the passageway again, the room almost deafeningly silent. Before I could mull the question over for too long, though, a droplet of water landed between my ears again, and I shivered unpleasantly.

"If they aren't here, then they probably ran outside," I said. It took a moment for the thought to sink in, and when it did, my tail started to wag. "And unless they somehow got down from here with all those Noibat bugging them..."

"Then this must be the other way out!" Rose said, hope swelling in her lightly-accented voice as she clasped her hands to her hoodie.

With renewed vigor, we hurried across the higher bluff, ducking into the other side of the tunnel and leaving the magma chamber behind. Leaning forward, I peered straight ahead, a determined smile curling onto my muzzle when I saw a small dot of light on the horizon. The cavern's exit got bigger and bigger with each and every step we took, the sunlight looking so bright that I had to bring an arm up to shield my eyes-

-and I suddenly knocked my footpaw against a particularly wet, bump rock, jutting up from the damp dirt, and I scrunched my face up when I felt myself tumble over, Rose yipping in surprise as I fell down, down...

...and landed on a relatively soft patch of dirt, blades of grass tickling my cheeks. Warm, fresh air blustered over my face, helping to stir me back to my senses, and, slowly, but surely, I opened my eyes, squinting when I saw a Smeargle with pink headfur standing just a couple feet away. He twisted around a split-second later, his eyes widening when he saw me.

"Oh, thank goodness...!" Ilima exhaled, striding over to offer me his hand, and he glanced up at the rest of my teammates, his paintbrush-shaped tail waving around behind him. "Are you all okay?"

* * *

"So they were waiting to ambush you... hrm," The trial captain mused, his expression turning stern as he scratched thoughtfully at his chin. Rose, Cyan, Erin and I were all resting atop a small rock across from him, and now that we had finished explaining ourselves, we were happy to just relax and enjoy the fresh air. "I ran into them... or, well, they ran into me while I was on my way up here, but I couldn't go after them while you were still in the middle of your trial. I was hoping that they weren't out here just to cause more trouble..."

"I'm not even sure how they found out we were taking the island challenge, but apparently they knew," I said with a shrug, leaning back and letting my hands fall to my lap afterward, idly tapping the tips of my pawspikes together. "They sounded pretty mad about what happened in Kekona City, too. I guess they're holding a grudge."

"Hmph, I bet they won't be tryin' anythin' anytime soon, that's for damn sure!" Cyan snorted in response, slapping his fan-shaped tail against our stony seat. Erin giggled in agreement, fidgeting closer to her boyfriend when he continued. "With how everythin' blew up in their face, they're probably goin' t'be layin' low for a while, right?"

"Most likely yes, but that's what worries me." Ilima folded his arms against his vest and turned to look out at the countryside vista, a few locks of his wavy pink headfur drooping down his forehead. I peered out as well, gladly drinking in the scenery: we were so high up that we could actually see the curvature of the island, its greenery contrasting against the vivid turquoise ocean. "They have a head start, and if they were hiding in Verdant Town, I doubt they'll stick around. My guess is they'll go north, and... well, there's no shortage of places to hide out there in the wilderness."

"But you aren't just gonna let 'em get away, right?" Erin cocked her head in confusion, her short tail wiggling as she kicked her legs up and down.

The tan-furred beagle smiled at that, shaking his head and glancing over at the fighting type."Of course not! But with the school semester about to start, I'm not equipped to go hunting for them. I'll have to let the police know, so they can give their stations a heads-up... and I'll need to give Carter a call as well..."

"Carter?" I turned to look at Rose when she asked, then grinned when I saw that her ears had perked up in curiosity. Reaching an arm over, I affectionately tousled the Ninetales' ponytail of headfur, and she hummed, instinctively leaning into my touch. "Mmm... who's that?"

"Ahh, Carter's the second of Melemele's trial captains. He's a Mudsdale, he works training Ryde Pokemon up at Koala'au Ranch, to the northeast. I don't know for sure how busy he is this time of year, but he's much better equipped than I am to deal with Team Skull," Ilima answered, strolling back over to us and coughing once or twice to clear his throat. "Er-hem... and, speaking of which..."

The Smeargle stood up a little bit straighter, glancing from Rose to Cyan to Erin to me with a professional look on his face, and we all sat at attention at the change in his posture and tone. Reaching down, Ilima slowly tugged his fanny pack over to his front, and we watched in relative silence as he unzipped it and rifled through the pouch. Then, he pulled out a small, wooden box, cupping both palms underneath and bringing it close to his chest. He held it delicately – almost reverently, even – and I leaned forward in anticipation

"While Team Skull may have interfered a bit, you did manage to make it through Verdant Cave without... er, too much trouble," The trial captain began, carefully moving one hand up and sliding the top of the box off, wood scraping softly against wood. He paused briefly... and then smiled. "So, if you would give me your trial passport for a moment..."

I blinked, then smiled, pulling an arm through my backpack's strap and swinging it over onto my lap. Opening up the main pocket, I quickly dug inside, pushing past a few potions and some other supplies before feeling something thin and smooth brush against my fingers. Grabbing the corner of the booklet, I drew it out with a nod, hopping down from the rock and holding it out to the Smeargle. Rose stood up as well, gently walking up next to me, and Cyan and Erin did the same soon after.

"Thank you," Ilima said as he took the passport, flipping it open and laying the first page flat on the top of the wooden box.

Peering over slightly, I watched as he took a small, rounded stamp, pressed it firm onto the ink pad next to it, then brought it up... and down... onto the paper. He held it still for just a second before pulling away, putting the stamp back in its place and closing the box again.

"Working in harmony with each other to overcome obstacles, the four of you have successfully completed my trial!" He stated proudly, and with a gentle motion, he scooped the trial passport up and offered it back to us. "Congratulations!"

I gingerly took the booklet back, and as Ilima put his things away, my teammates and I all gazed down at the stamp that was now pressed onto the glossy page. It was a yellow, five-petaled flower, with leaves and curving lines spreading out around it, all encased in a perfect circle. Sunlight glinted off of the ink, lending it an almost mystical shine, and as we gazed at it, I could feel the weight of the island challenge resting on our shoulders.

"Woohoooo!" Erin belted out a triumphant cheer, leaping almost a foot into the air and throwing her arms in the air, her fur sleeves flying high as she beamed at us. "We did it!"

Cyan rolled his eyes at that, but smiled toothily all the same, reaching out to give his girlfriend a quick noogie, while Rose continued to stare at our trial passport, her ruby red eyes sparkling happily as she gazed at the stamp. Raising my head, I glanced over at the cream-furred fox, then leaned in to plant a quick peck on her cheek, eliciting a warm laugh from her in the process.

"Yeah," I said, more to myself than anything else, and my smile widened when Rose gave me a soft kiss as well. "Heh, we did it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written December 2018)
> 
> And so we reach the first trial! I ended up basing this on a combination of what wild Pokemon you can find in Verdant Cave in-game, as well as a mix of how it looks in-game and how its inspiration looks in reality. I wanted to try and get the general idea across - Ilima's trial is a basic one that anyone could probably do, Team Skull appears and accidentally makes fools of themselves - but also wanted to execute it in a different way, hence the whole setup here. Early on I was actually planning on having them battle 'properly', but the idea of the grunts waking up a bunch of Noibat and screwing themselves over ended up coming to me as I was writing the scene itself, and I think it was a bit of an inspired touch. Overall, I'm still very happy with how this chapter reads, and it was a lot of fun to write to boot.


	9. Banging Out on the Beach!

"Ergh-!" I let out a grunt when a mild ache ran through my legs, flaring up ever-so-slightly whenever I stepped onto the dusty track running down the side of the road. Leaning over somewhat, I brushed my hands over my swim trunks, inhaling... and exhaling... as the late morning heat beat down onto my head. "Man... I'm more sore than I thought I'd be. Yesterday was rough, huh?"

"Yeah, it was..." Rose sighed next to me, and I stood up, my aura tassels sliding over my shoulders as I turned to look at my partner. The Ninetales fidgeted somewhat as we wandered past a familiar knee-high barrier to our right, arching her back and stretching her arms out, and I stole a quick peek at the pink, flame-patterned sarong falling down her shapely hips. Her matching bikini top was hidden behind a blue beach towel draped over her shoulders, its edges spilling over her breasts. "But at least we've got some time to ourselves, now that our first trial's done."

"You mean, at least we've got something to do besides getting all our laundry done, heheheh," I replied with a chuckle, prompting Rose to roll her eyes and smile, her nine fluffy tails brushing against my side as they waved back and forth.

We both twisted around when Erin burst into a round of giggles, peering back at the Samurott and Mienshao that followed behind us. Cyan gripped at the straps of his hiking pack, his shell helmet – and his swim-jammers – glinting in the sunlight. Erin, on the other hand, danced around with a spring in her step, her whiskers twitching as she patted at her one-piece swimsuit. "Heeheehee, plus we didn't get to have fun at the beach back in Kekona City! Now we're making up for it, right?"

"Eh, that's fair." I shrugged, then grinned at the fighting type, my tail wagging when she started giggling again.

"I still don't know if I'm goin' t'take my jammers off once we get there!" Cyan said, slapping his fan-shaped tail against his legs and folding his arms against his lighter-blue chest. Despite his decisive tone of voice, I could see the faintest of blushes rising onto his cheeks. "I jus' want t'go swimmin'! The last time I did any was before we left, and that was durin' that New Years party!"

"Well, we'll probably be staying out here for a good few hours, so you'll have plenty of time to get wet." Reaching an arm out, I gestured at the blue-furred sea lion to get his attention, then tapped a pawspike against my swim trunks. "But you know, you're just going to stand out if you're the only one there who isn't naked."

"But nobody's gonna notice if I'm out in th'water, are they?" He replied, stroking his mustache a few times to try and hide his shyness. Erin 'aww'-ed, throwing her arms around her boyfriend's midriff in response... then sneakily hooked her thumbs around his swim-jammers, tugging them just an inch lower down his hips. Cyan stiffened, then rolled his eyes and shooed his girlfriend away, taking her hand to keep her from trying again. "How much further is it, anyway?"

My grin widened as I watched the pair's antics – Rose stifling a laugh of her own – but I turned back around at the Samurott's question, gazing over to the right as we continued down the open stretch of tarmac. Verdant Cave had come and gone, with the rocky hillside giving way to a sprawling green valley that was surrounded by Melemele's western mountain range, gray, puffy clouds lingering above the ridged peaks. Glancing left, I saw a line of scraggly shrubs sprouting up from the short, dry grass, sectioning off the lane of dirt that we were walking in.

"Hmm..." I furrowed my brow, hopping up onto my tiptoes to try and see what else was coming up ahead, catching slight glimpses of deep blue behind the bushes. "It's supposed to be a hop, skip and jump away from Verdant Cave, and we passed Verdant Cave a few minutes ago, so it should be-"

Before I could finish, a distant, cheerful yell interrupted me, drifting in from the direction of the ocean. Turning to look where the noise had come from, I blinked when I saw what looked like a gap in the greenery, and I pushed into an easy jog, beckoning my teammates to follow me. Just a short ways away, there was a smaller trail breaking off to the side, looking surprisingly well-maintained compared to the rest of the trampled soil, and I made a beeline for it, my ears flicking as the cheers and chatter got louder and louder.

"Don't look now," I called out, taking a deep breath and listening hard as I ran over to the path, my aura tassels bumping against each other from the motion. I could hear Rose, Cyan and Erin staying hot on my heels, their footsteps intermingling with the loud jostling of Cyan's hiking pack. "But I think we found it!"

Sure enough, the side path curved around after a few seconds, winding through the overgrowth and heading towards the coast. Soon after we turned, the hard-packed soil started to soften, patches of trampled grass popping up here and there, and I wrinkled my nose when the faint scent of salt wafted past my nostrils. We dashed through the shrubbery, passing by a tiny handful of parked cars and a wild, harnessed Dodrio, and-

-and then I skidded to a stop when the trail abruptly ended, spreading my arms wide to keep the others from crashing into me.

There, out in front of us, spread a massive, picturesque beach, a mile-long span of pristine white sand fringed by flat grass and tall, leafy trees. Gentle, foamy waves lapped at the shoreline, rolling into the edge of the beach and getting swept right back out by the surf, while a flock of wild Wingull circled high above, squawking and screeching at each other. And, most importantly, at least a few dozen anthro Pokemon were dotted all around: some were relaxing, others were surfing, but all of them were clearly, undeniably naked.

"Yeah," I said, a pleasant quiver running down my spine. "I think we found it."

* * *

**Melemele ke Ola! Banging Out on the Beach!**

* * *

Soft sand shifted under our pawpads as we strolled across the cove, looking this way and that at the various beachgoers running, sunning and having fun, a current of excitement buzzing through the air. A feathery Farfetch'd leaned back in a portable chair, spreading his legs to let his tapered penis flop down onto the seat. Just a few feet away from him, a pair of lean, twinky Furret rested side-by-side on a towel, their arms outstretched to jerk each other off. Out in the ocean, a chubby Glameow sat atop a surfboard, her cheeks burning cherry-red as a muscular Machoke adjusted her position from behind, his hands slowly moving from her sides to her belly and butt.

"Man, look this place," I said, my hands tucked into the pockets of my swim trunks as I peered into the distance, the rolling mountains still standing tall on the horizon. A coastal breeze blustered in from the ocean a split-second later, forcing me to scrunch my face up when a mist of droplets buffeted my fur. "Way different from the beaches in Hau'oli, that's for sure."

"Mmhm. I can't believe how calm it is, even with all these Pokemon here..." Rose hummed in curiosity, her ponytail of headfur whipping in the wind. Someone from behind us let out a loud, lewd groan, and I tried not to laugh when I saw my partner jolt in surprise, a bashful, but still amused, smile curling onto her muzzle. "I'm glad that Ilima told us about it, too. We never would have seen it from the road, with all the trees and bushes in the way."

"Hmph, I bet we would've heard somethin', though," Cyan mumbled under his breath, stomping next to me and gazing around, taking great care to avoid staring at any of the naked passerby. A telltale bulge was forming in his swim-jammers, visible even out of the corner of my vision, and the water type hastily rubbed at the nylon as it stretched. "Now where're we puttin' down stakes?"

"Ooh, there, there!" Erin jabbed a finger forward, her tied fur sleeves wiggling as she hopped up and down.

I turned to look where the pink mink was pointing, then perked up. Coming up just ahead was an empty plot of sand, only neighbored by two other groups: a busty Pikachu and an even bustier Eevee making out nearby, and a whole team of anthro Pokemon playing volleyball down in the shallows. With a nod of agreement, I strode forward, giving the lesbian couple a friendly wave – though they were too busy to notice – before turning around and looking back at my friends.

"Looks pretty good to me," I said, folding my arms against my blunted chestspike as I ran one of my footpaws across the sand, drawing a line through the dune. "We'd better grab it before somebody else comes along."

Rose was already padding over even as I spoke, pulling the beach towel off of her shoulders and holding it out; it rapidly unfurled to its full length, the edges fluttering wildly as the Ninetales waved it up and down, up and down. Cyan, in the meantime, marched up behind me and slipped his hiking pack off, letting the heavy leather bag drop onto the sand with an audible thud, the ground rumbling slightly from the impact.

"There we go!" He said, clapping his hands together before turning back around, and I gave him a quick pat on his shoulder before ambling over to my partner, who was still wrangling with our beach towel. "So now what're we goin' t'do, eh?"

"Well, if I remember right, you were going swimming," I replied dryly, playfully quirking my eyebrows upward when the Samurott snorted. Walking over to Rose, I grabbed the loose corners of our towel and pulled them taut, helping her lower it down onto the ground even as I continued. "But right now? I think I just want to relax."

"Hmm... I dunno what I wanna do!" Erin piped up, and I glanced over at the Mienshao as she skipped over to her boyfriend, her arms already half-pulled out from her swimsuit. Cyan turned to look at his girlfriend, then gulped when she stripped her one-piece off right in front of him, lazily tossing it over the edge of his hiking pack and proudly planting her hands on her now-bare hips. "Ooh, maybe I'll go swimming too. We could make it a race!"

"I-If you're really wantin' t'go swimmin', then fine!" Cyan stuttered, then smirked confidently at the suggestion, briefly forgetting his awkwardness. "Hell, makin' it a race sounds good t'me!"

"Cyan?" An unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out. "Is that you?"

I paused in the middle of smoothing a few wrinkles out of the towel, raising my head until I was looking at Rose. She stared back at me, looking just as confused as I was, and we both glanced over at our two younger teammates afterward – Cyan froze where he stood when he heard his name, his eyes going as wide as saucers. Erin leaned from side to side to look past the other Pokemon, her short tail twitching now that it was free of her swimsuit. Kneeling higher, I looked out at the beach...

There was a tall, thickly-built Bidoof jogging over from the volleyball net, her hefty tits shaking and her wide hips swinging with every step she took, sending a pang of arousal through my nerves. Her face lit up in recognition once she got a bit closer, and a surprised smile spread across her dark-brown snout. "Cyan, that is you, isn't it? I recognize those arms and shoulders!"

Erin's ears pointed straight upwards, and she threw her arms above her head, nearly smacking her hand against Cyan's shell helmet in the process. Leaping up next to the water type, the Mienshao hopped up and down, nudging her hip against his side to shake him out of his startled stupor. "Ohh, woooww! Hi, miss Sarah! I didn't know you were here!"

"I could say the same thing about you!" Miss Sarah chuckled, her voice layered thick with sass, and she slowed to a stop in front of the pair, hunching over somewhat to catch her breath. Once she had done so, she snapped right back up, holding her arms under her breasts and glancing between Cyan and Erin. "But it's good to see you two! What are you doing here at Uluwehi Beach? Last I heard, you were heading out to go on the island challenge with your friends!"

"Yup, that's right!" Erin twisted around and gestured at Rose and I with a lazy swing of her fur sleeves, a peppy laugh erupting from her afterward. "Heehee, we're here celebrating 'cause we finished our first trial yesterday!"

The Bidoof blinked, then beamed, her messy, curly bun of headfur shaking as she leaned back and regarded us all with a pleased expression. Her gaze flicked towards Rose and I to give us a silent greeting, but she soon returned her attention to Cyan and Erin, reaching out and lightly rapping her knuckles against the former's chest. "Really! Well, congrats! Guess that means I don't need to drag you back to work tomorrow, huh, champ?"

"U-Uh?" Cyan grunted as he was pulled back to reality, and I grinned when he let out a nervous cough. "Oh, uh... y-yeah! Tomorrow we're headin' out t'go to th'next trial area!"

"What are you doing here, though, miss Sarah?" Erin asked, rocking back and forth on her heels and cocking her head, whiskers twitching and short tail wagging. "Do you have today off?"

"You bet! Me and some pals come out here sometimes, though it's busier on weekends." Miss Sarah nodded, glancing over her shoulder and thumbing towards the volleyball net. Some of the other Pokemon had wandered away from the makeshift court, and the ball itself sat on the ground, looking as lonely as could be. The normal type stared, then turned back towards the pair with an inquisitive look, idly running her hands over her breasts. "Actually... you two wanna join in? A couple friends wanted to take a break, but if you guys are interested, we could play another three-on-three match."

Erin beamed brightly at the offer, pumping her fists and giggling enthusiastically. "Oooh, yeah, that sounds like fun! C'mon, Cyan, let's get that swimsuit off so we can have some fun!"

Before he could even reply, the Mienshao reached out, slipped her fingers through Cyan's swim-jammers, and yanked them down his legs. His long, smoothshape penis sprang out, quickly twitching to full mast as it was freed from the nylon, and the Samurott inhaled sharply, a deep blush flaring onto his face as he reached down in a vain attempt to hide his boner. The gesture only got miss Sarah's attention faster, and she gave him a thorough once-over, letting out a low whistle afterward.

"Boy, that bulge of yours wasn't lying, huh?" She remarked. Cyan's jaw dropped open, then shut closed just as quick, eliciting a reassuring chuckle from the Bidoof. "Mhmhm, don't be so shy, Cyan, no one's gonna judge you. Especially not out here. Now come on, I'll introduce you to the others!"

"Woohooooo!" Erin let out a whooping cheer, watching as miss Sarah spun around and headed back over to the shallow water, her stubby tail wiggling above her bouncing ass. Without missing a beat, the pink mink grabbed her boyfriend's hand and kicked off into a sprint, following close behind the older Pokemon. "Let's go!"

"Okay, okay, fine, but- w-woah-!" Cyan started to say, but stumbled forward when his girlfriend charged across the beach; he had to hop up and down a few times due to his swim-jammers still stuck around his knees, but he managed to get them off before he made it too far down the beach.

Rose and I watched in silence as the pair left, cheerfully crabbing at each other while miss Sarah flagged her other friends over, gesturing between them all to introduce everyone. After a few seconds, I glanced over at the cream-furred fox kneeling across from me, my heart skipping a beat when I saw the relieved smile on her muzzle... only for the sensation of netting against fur to remind me that I was still wearing my swim trunks. Slowly, I got up and dusted myself off, sighing as I tapped my footpaws in the sand.

"Well, I guess it's just us for now," I said, stepping around our beach towel and reaching over to my partner, who broke out of her trance with a shake of her head. She looked up at me, then perked up and took my hand, giving it an affectionate squeeze as I helped her stand. "It's about time we got these pesky clothes off, huh?"

"Hehehe, you sound so excited," The fire type laughed warmly, her nine fluffy tails swishing as she leaned from side to side. Her sarong ruffled from the motion, rising up from her thigh and fluttering somewhat, and she paused for a moment, humming thoughtfully to herself. "Mmm, but the breeze does feel nice, doesn't it...?"

I watched as my partner reached down to undo the sprawl of deep pink cloth wrapped around her waist, gently pinching the ends of the tie between her fingers and tugging them loose. It didn't take long for them to come free, and she sucked in a breath when her swimwear billowed out behind her, leaving her lower body fully exposed to the balmy weather. Pulling her sarong around, she bundled it up before moving on to her bikini top, and my heart pounded when I noticed the flame-patterned fabric just barely straining to contain her breasts.

Before I could get too distracted, though, I felt a sudden tightness from within my swim trunks, and I ducked my head when I felt the tip of my penis poke out of my sheath. Jamming my hands into my pockets, I tugged the shorts down my hips, letting out a gasp when my balls dropped out into the open, feeling heavier than I'd realized. A shiver ran down my spine as a gust of warm air swept over my bare crotch, and my shaft poked further out, gradually rising into view. With a quick shimmy, I shook my trunks the rest of the way off, reaching down to fondle myself afterward.

"Hhhhooo..." I groaned heavily as soon as I touched my sheath, and I curled my fingers around it, feeling my erection throb against my palm. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I gave my shaft a couple slow, long strokes, bending over and snatching up my swim trunks in the meantime. "Oh yeah, it was definitely time to get those off."

My ears flicked when Rose let out a soft sigh, and I raised my head... then twisted around when I realized that she was no longer standing next to me. The Ninetales had walked over to Cyan's hiking pack, neatly laying both parts of her swimwear down on top of the heavy leather bag, and my growing cock twitched when she turned back around. Sunlight shined against her creamy coat of fur, helping to highlight her fit, curvy figure, and she gingerly ran her hands all over her front, from her ample G-cups to her thick thighs. There was a sparkle playing in her ruby red eyes as she smoothed her fur out, and she shot me a modest smile when she noticed me staring.

"You really were excited, huh?" My partner said, a couple locks of her headfur falling down in front of her face as she walked back over to me, raising her footpaws high to shake the sand off her pawpads. She glanced down at my dick, then looked right back up at me, a light blush flaring onto her cheeks. "I guess we have been a bit stressed recently, haven't we?"

"Heh, probably more than just 'a bit'," I quipped, reaching out to run my free hand across Rose's forehead, brushing her bangs back into place. She instinctively leaned into my touch, her ears twitching at the affectionate gesture, and I let my fingers trail down to her breasts, the perky mounds giving ever-so-slightly. "Kind of been a weird start to the island challenge, huh? Feels like we've been running all over the place ever since we got to Kekona City."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Rose replied, shuffling a little bit closer and wrapping her arms around my torso to give me an affectionate cuddle. "But now that we've finished Ilima's trial, hopefully things will calm back down..."

My breath hitched at the feeling of her soft fur rubbing against my own – her boobs smushing around my blunted chestspike – and I gladly hugged her back, snaking one arm around the fire type's waist and pressing my abs up against her slender midriff. As if on cue, my knot finally swelled out into the open, my penis fully hard and quivering needily, and I gave myself a long, deliberate stroke to keep it that way. My tapered tip narrowly grazed against Rose's inner thighs, and a faint, aroused haze drifted through my head when I felt the heat emanating from between her legs; the sensation wasn't lost on her, either, and she inched closer, closer...

My eyelids drooped when she pressed her lips against mine, soft and faintly damp, and I tilted my head somewhat, letting go of my dick and reaching around to pull the cream-furred fox deeper into the kiss. She inhaled sharply through her nose – tensing up for a moment, then relaxing just as suddenly – and spread her fingers wide, digging their tips into my back. Opening my mouth a little bit, I licked at my partner's muzzle, and she opened up as well, wrapping her tongue around my own with a quiet, but undeniably horny, moan. The rest of the beach faded from our minds as we made out, hands wandering and tails wagging.

A full minute passed before we finally broke away... or at least it felt like a minute, the squawks of the wild Wingull and the cheers of the various beachgoers drifting into our ears again. Rose panted, her cheeks even more flushed than before, and I took a deep breath as well, feeling the horny fog in my head fade away, if only slightly. My cock throbbed again when I felt the sea breeze bluster over our naked bodies, and I turned my head, looking around at the rest of the nude beach. Cyan, Erin, and miss Sarah were engaged in their game of volleyball, the former's erection bouncing as he jogged through the shallows, and the faint scent of salt wafted on the wind.

"Well..." I started to say, gazing at our friends for a little bit longer before I looked back at Rose, and I shook my head towards our beach towel, my aura tassels swinging in its direction. "Why don't we start working off all that stress?"

She opened her mouth to reply – then paused when a sloppy, gulping moan rang out into the air, the both of us jumping slightly in surprise. Rose leaned to the side to peek past me, and I turned around a second later, my eyebrows quickly quirking upward.

The noise had come from the Pikachu and Eevee ladies resting just a short ways away: they had apparently stopped making out at some point, and were now eagerly facefucking each other instead, both of them sporting fat, smoothshape cocks. My gaze briefly flicked towards the opened container of enigma berry cream sitting within arm's reach of their towel, and my own dick twitched as we listened to their balls slap against their faces.

"Mmf..." Rose grunted under her breath, and I grinned inwardly when I felt her inner fire flare hotter for the briefest of moments, making her own arousal apparent. "Y-Yeah... and I think I know just how to get started, hehehe..."

My tail wagged happily at the Ninetales' giggle, and I looked back over at her when she started to move lower, her perky boobs brushing down through my torsofur along the way. Slowly, but surely, she knelt down – legs spread and knees dug into the sand – and cupped her hands underneath her titties, wrapping the massive mounds around my throbbing knot. At the same time, she pursed her lips and peppered the rest of my cock with gentle kisses, going down in-between her breasts before sticking her tongue out and licking all the way back up to my tip.

"Ghh-!" Sparks shot through my nerves as Rose lavished my dick, and I lightly rocked my hips, groaning as I thrust between my partner's G-cups. Her breasts were warm and silky-smooth, tickling at my sensitive shaft as I thrust between them, and I leaned over somewhat when I felt my vein pulse, a glob of precum immediately leaking out into the open. "R-Rose..."

The cream-furred fox smiled coyly, giving me one last little lick to lap up the salty droplet, and then she wrapped her mouth fully around the upper half of my cock, mooshing her tits around my knot and sheath in the same breath. My jaw dropped when she bobbed her head, a purr rumbling in the back of her throat, and I shuddered in pleasure, the haze of arousal completely filling my mind. Her tongue swirled over my shaft, lubing it up all around, and another round of pre pumped out into her mouth, my nerves surging at the sensation.

Leaning over, I reached down and combed my fingers through the Ninetales' headfur, giving her a scratch behind the ears to urge her on. She did just that, puffing her chest out and shimmying her tits from side to side, her lovely pink nipples rubbing against the fur on my crotch; my balls dangled below the perky mounds all the while, bumping and swinging against her underboob. I jerked forward almost reflexively, my tapered tip nudging against the roof of the fire type's mouth, and she let out a soft moan in response, followed by a slurping noise as she raised her head.

"Mmm... mm-mwah-!" With a gasp, Rose popped off of me, a thin strand of saliva trailing from her lips as she leaned back. The wind swept right past the upper half of my dick a second later, sending a sudden chill through it, and I shivered, hunching over a bit and looking down at my partner. Her hefty boobs were still smushed, nice and snug, around my knot, and she took a deep breath before picking up speed again, dragging the mounds up... and then down again, cooing in pleasure. "Ooh, gosh... w-when was the last time we had sex at the beach, Bill? I don't remember... mmmff..."

I inhaled sharply as she started to titfuck me in full, a huge, aching throb going through my cock from the cozy, fuzzy sensation, and an equally huge, shaky groan escaped my throat, loud enough that I nearly didn't hear the fire type's question. With a chuckle, I bent over a little more and reached down to grab her boobs, resting my hands right on top of hers. "Aah... hhheh... how about that time in Humilau, back before we moved?"

"Wh-huh-? Hhuuuuh..." The Ninetales glanced up at me, then moaned quietly when I curled my fingers around her G-cups, running my thumbs in circles around her areolas. She visibly relaxed at the touch, her arms going slack and her eyelashes fluttering low as I took control, holding her tits firm and swinging my hips in smooth, rhythmic motions. Pre flowed liberally from my tip, oozing out and then vanishing between her boobs, her cleavage getting matted as my fluids sank into her fur. "B-But that w-aah-! Was so l-long ago now... mmmph, h-has it really been that long...?"

"W-Well, now that we've found this place-hhhhaah...! Hhhooo, we can come back whenever we want, right?" I replied, scratching at my torsofur when the cream-furred fox nodded dazedly at me, and I leaned sideways when she shuddered. My dick twitched when I noticed a long trail of her own juices dripping out of her pussy, oozing down between her legs, and I let go of her breasts, stepping back and letting my shaft slide out.

Rose let out a needy moan as I eased backwards, still shaking, mooshing, playing with her titties even though my cock wasn't between them anymore, and I looked down at her as she caught her breath, lightly jerking myself off in the meantime. The Ninetales basked in the sunlight, her ponytail of headfur waving gently in the wind, and I felt myself get even harder as I gazed up and down her gorgeous body, unable to tear my gaze away. Between her spread legs, perky boobies, and the horny blush on her face, I almost wanted to take her right there in the sand, but the grit underneath my pawpads was enough to keep me from acting on that particular impulse.

"Rose..." I began, wrapping a hand around my knot and lightly swinging my dick up and down, up and down, sticky and throbbing against my palm. Letting my shoulders slump, I swung my free arm around, gesturing towards our blue beach towel. "Thhhink we should move over to the towel now?"

Rose perked up when I asked, slowing to a stop as she, too, came back to her senses, and she peered around the beach for a moment. Her expression went from aroused, to modest, and then back to aroused in the span of a couple seconds, and she knelt a little bit higher, a playful smile curling onto her muzzle. With a sigh, she got to her footpaws – still squatting low to the ground – and wiggled her way over to our towel.

"Hhn, Bill..." She purred warmly, clambering onto the length of terrycloth and getting down on all fours, spreading her knees wider and bending her forearms. The cream-furred fox fidgeted a little to get settled in, then leaned over until her boobs rested comfortably on the fuzzy fabric, raising her ass up high in the process. Her tails slowly lifted from around her hips, curling up until they lay flat across the small of her back, and I inhaled deeply at the sight of her pink, dripping-wet folds, perfectly framed by her shapely thighs. "C-Could we... do doggystyle?"

I grinned cheekily, my dick twitching at her request, and without another word, I walked over to our beach towel, shaking the sand off of my footpaws before kneeling down right behind my partner. A tremor of excitement rippled through my nerves as I leaned over, reaching out and placing my hands on top of Rose's again, and I crawled closer and closer until I was practically mounting her, her nine fluffy tails brushing against my blunted chestspike. She moaned under her breath at our closeness, so soft that I almost didn't hear it, and I raised my hips to prepare myself.

"Let's see..." I muttered, my tail wagging back and forth as I spread my legs dragging my dick against her crotch. I stopped in my tracks when I felt my tapered tip graze against her pussy, chuckling when I felt her inner fire flare. "Heh, you ready?"

Slowly, the Ninetales turned her head to look at me, her ruby red eyes shining with love and lust both as she gave me a nod of approval, and I smiled back at her, hunching a little further over to nuzzle at her ponytail of headfur. Taking a deep breath, I reared back – and then thrust forward with a swing of my hips, my knotted cock sliding inside of her with ease.

A gasp erupted from my muzzle as her folds spread out around my sensitive shaft; she was steaming-hot and utterly drenched from her juices, the combination of which left me starstruck in sheer pleasure. I didn't even make it completely inside before slowing down, and I groaned right into the fire type's ears, carefully pushing bit by bit until my knot bumped against her crotch. Underneath me, Rose shuddered, and I heard her let out a sweet, sensual sigh when a wave of pleasure rolled through her, her fluids gushing past my dick soon after.

For a moment, we just lay there, getting used to the feeling of each other. Rose's pussy clenched repeatedly around my throbbing dick, tightening more and more despite how much I was stretching her out, and I felt another round of pre ooze out of me. The warmth of her inner fire washed over me like a warm bath, and I curled my fingers between her own, arousal quickly overpowering my senses again. Once I had gotten used to the heat, however, I started to pull out, her fluids dribbling down the front of my knot as I raised my ass up.

"M-Mmmm..." Rose half-hummed, half-purred, ducking down and burying her face in between her boobs, the G-cups jiggling ever-so-slightly from the motion, and she gingerly rocked her hips back and forth to try and keep my dick inside of her. Even so, I eased back, getting about halfway out of her before pausing... and then dropping right back down again, thrusting inside of her again with one swift movement. "Oooh, yes-!"

"Ohhh, Arceus, Rose..." I groaned, sparks of pleasure rippling from my head to my footpaws as my dick slid back inside the Ninetales, going as deeply as it could go before my knot rubbed up against her folds again. My balls swung forward just enough to nudge against her clit, and she tensed, then relaxed, in the span of a split-second. Even more of her pussy juices spilled out of her, flowing liberally around my cock, which helped to lube me right up. "Ghhh..."

Slipping partway out of her again, I started to hump the cream-furred fox, rocking my hips back and forth, back and forth; a series of slick, sticky noises drifted through the air, and I felt my cock get even harder at the sound, throbbing heavily. Hunching a little further over, I let my head rest on top of Rose's shoulder, giving her a peck on the cheek before peering out at the beach. Waves continued to roll into shore, leaving bits of bubbly froth behind on the sand, and I listened close, my ears flicking.

Then, I picked up my pace, pumping in and out in time with the surf, my knot bumping against my partner's crotch with each thrust. The sounds of our sex grew louder, melding with the soothing laps of the ocean, and I let out another hot, heavy, horny groan when I felt Rose's pussy contract around my dick again. She moaned needily, gingerly rolling her hips alongside my own – her plump asscheeks brushing and grazing against my inner thighs – and I affectionately rubbed my palms against her hands, briefly pausing to grind my knot against her folds each time I pushed inside of her.

Pleasure rolled through our nerves as we gently humped each other, Rose's inner fire flaring as I pressed my crotch up against hers, the sheer heat contrasting with the cooler, coastal breeze that swept over our naked bodies. My torsofur ruffled in the wind, as did the tips of my partner's nine fluffy tails, and I shivered when I felt her fur brushed past my blunted chestspike. Tiny little twitches ran down my thighs, interrupting my otherwise smooth thrusts, and after a minute or two, I paused, lowering my hips and letting my quivering cock rest inside of Rose's warm, tight pussy.

"Mmph..." Before I even had a chance to move, she moaned and pushed back, pressing her crotch even deeper into me when she realized that had stopped. Her folds clamped even tighter around my shaft, clinging to the length as if she didn't want to let go, and my heart skipped a beat when she continued, her lightly-accented voice ringing distantly in my ears. "K-Keep going... please..."

The corners of my mouth curled into a sly smile, and I spread my legs wider, ever-so-slightly, to adjust my posture. Digging my knees harder into our beach towel, I pulled almost completely out of the Ninetales, letting the fresh air cool off my soaking-wet shaft for a second; then, I leaned in to give her cheek an affectionate lick. Even more pre pumped through me in the meantime, my tapered tip flaring with each round that oozed out.

"You want me to keep going, eh...?" I murmured, carefully rolling my hips in a circular motion, deliberately pressing the sides of my dick up against her plump, soaking labia to tease her. The cream-furred fox let out a quiet coo, briefly arching her back in happiness, and my smile widened. "Well, how about this-!"

With that, I thrust back inside of her, nice and fast, my knot smacking against her folds so hard that I felt them stretch even further open. Rose gasped, then moaned loud enough to drown out the rest of the beachgoers, and I jerked back, then swung forward again, going faster and faster until my balls audibly clapped against her wet, matted crotch. My tongue lolled out of my mouth from the exertion, a surge of pleasure coursing through my veins, and I pulled my arms and legs tighter around my partner, hugging her close as I began to hump in earnest.

"Aah-!" Rose wiggled underneath me, hips swaying and tails shaking as I pumped in and out, in and out, in and out, mounting the fire type with all my might. She raised her head, puffing her chest out just a tad, and the hazy feeling in my head got even stronger when I felt her hefty tits bounce and jiggle against our wrists from our combined motions. "Ohh, Arceus, yes- stretch me out, just like that...!"

I was all too happy to oblige, pounding her pussy over and over and over, her folds squeezing and clenching around my cock like a vicegrip, making me throb, stiffen, ache each time I pressed my knot against her. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I bucked my hips, thrusting on instinct alone after a little while, and I groaned heavily as the various sensations completely bowled me over. Hot; tight; wet; each thought lasted for less than a second before getting swept away by the waves of pleasure coursing through me, egged on by Rose's cute little moans and bouncing hips.

Soon enough, a familiar pressure began to build deep within me, my muscles tensing up and my aura tassels hovering up from my shoulders, and I felt myself start to lose control, my thrusts becoming jerkier and more erratic. My partner seemed to notice, tilting her head to try and nuzzle me, but I forced myself to scrunch my eyes shut when her body began to glow, the light of her aura quickly surrounding her fit, curvy figure. When her pussy stretched further around my knot, though, I felt a sharp jolt shoot down my spine, cutting through what little willpower I had left.

"Ghgguh-" I moaned out, pangs going through my sheath and balls as I pushed, pushed, pushed deeper into the Ninetales underneath me, doing everything I could to shove my knot inside her. "Rose... getting close-"

"C-Cum in me, Bill-" She replied without hesitation, her tails fanning out and wrapping around my sides. The ticklish sensation, on top of absolutely everything else, was enough to make my mind go blank, and I slammed my cock in and out of her folds, barely even hearing her above the sounds of our sex. "K-Knot me, p-please... fill me up fu-u-uh-aaaaah-!"

Without warning, she let out a squeal of bliss, arching her back and shoving her crotch right up against mine; her cry was accompanied by a sudden deluge of hot, drippy juices, flooding past my cock and loudly squirting out of her. I gasped when I felt her pussy contract as tightly as it could around my dick, her orgasm spurting past my shaft and spraying against my knot and balls, and I reflexively reared back, then swung my hips down in one final, splattery thrust.

"Hhh-!" My knot slipped inside of Rose's pussy with a loud, wet pop, my whole body freezing for the briefest of moments... and then I groaned when her folds squeezed around my entire cock, knot and all. "Ghhuuhh-!"

I came hard, my cock throbbing repeatedly as one, two, three ropes of hot, gooey cum launched out from my tip, one after another. The sticky strings shot deep into my partner's pussy, managing to go far despite her rushing, gushing fluids, and I pumped out another couple rounds soon after the first few. My hips moved on their own as I blew my load, rubbing up against the fire type's thighs, and Rose did the same, gently bouncing her own hips in time with mine. My balls dangled down between our legs all the while, pangs of pleasure going through my sheath as I was milked for all I was worth.

The two of us rode out our orgasms for what felt like forever, Rose squirting all over our towel while I filled her up full, just like she had wanted. Her inner fire flared each time our crotches bumped together, and the extra heat helped to drain every last drop of cum out of me, to the point where I felt it slowly ooze around my shaft from top to bottom, her pussy now completely and utterly filled. She gave me another nuzzle at the feeling, still moaning softly, and I smiled and nuzzled her right back.

Before too long, however, we started to slow down – my ropes became spurts, her squirts turned to dribbles, and the cloud of arousal hanging over our heads faded away, leaving us both completely spent, if only for the moment. I opened my eyes when I felt Rose's legs wobbled, taking deep, panting breaths as the Ninetales shivered in pleasure... and then I blinked in surprise when she slumped onto our beach towel, pulling me right along with her.

"Hhhwhoop-!" I yelped slightly as we both splayed flat atop the fuzzy blue fabric, the sand shifting underneath us from the sudden drop, and my grip on Rose's hands loosened, giving her enough freedom to stretch her arms and legs out. A mild jolt ran through my cock when I felt her folds clench again, locking my knot inside her, and I let out a satisfied sigh as our afterglow washed over us. "Hoo... I guess... that was just what we needed, huh?"

"Mmm... y-yeah... that was great, hehe," Rose said with a warm laugh, and she glanced over her shoulder at me, her ponytail of headfur spilling across the towel. I gave the cream-furred fox a cheeky grin in return, and she hummed happily, her nine fluffy tails slowly waving their way out from between my torsofur and her back. "Hopefully Cyan and Erin won't mind that we've already made a mess out of the towel."

I looked out at the rest of the beach again at her remark, leaning in to rest my head on top of her shoulder, and I smiled when I spotted our two younger teammates, and miss Sarah, still jogging around in the shallow water. Cyan's penis bounced as he ran for the volleyball, somehow still hard after all this time, and he and Erin laughed as he hit the ball high, the three of them watching as it spun skyward. "I think they won't mind."

* * *

"Ffuh-fuckin'... dammit..." The Arbok growled under his breath, furiously jerking his hemipenis off as he stared through the bushes at the nude beach beyond, his hand completely coated in his sticky precum. A strange mixture of anger and arousal welled up within him as he eyed the pair of Pokemon laying on their blue beach towel, but as he watched their butts bounce and legs shake, the arousal took over, a heavy throb running through his crotch. "Ghhhoo-!"

A heady snarl escaped the poison type's throat as he abruptly came, jerking his hips forward and clutching at his twin shafts as tightly as he could. Thin strings of cum shot out from his tips, flying out and landing messily on the ground in front of him, and he sagged over somewhat, small branches and leaves catching on his wide-open hoodflaps.

"M-Maaan..." A quieter voice spoke up next to the Arbok, and he tiredly turned his head to look over at the Crobat squatting next to him, his shorts pulled down to his ankles and similar white strings splattered over the waist of his skull-patterned shirt. The purple-furred bat was still tugging lazily at his dick, and he stared thoughtfully at the Lucario and Ninetales resting some yards away. "Why're they so fuckin' hot, bro...?"

"Dude, who cares?" The Arbok replied bluntly, his anger flaring up for a split-second, only for his arousal to smother it, leaving him feeling equal parts satisfied and sulky. Spreading his legs out, he leaned back until he was sitting on the sand, his long, scaly tail slithering from side to side. "Hmph, it oughta be us out there, fuckin' some babes like that..."

"C'mon, bro..." The Crobat said, his pointy ears drooping at the other grunt's remark. "Spyin' on them like this is gonna get you angrier."

"Yeah, yeah." The Arbok's shoulders sank, his hoodflaps folding closed again when the thought of Big Sam popped into his mind's eye again. "Not like we can mess with 'em out here anyway. C'mon, dude, let's go."

"Right," The Crobat said, squatting a little bit higher to pull his shorts back up around his hips... only to stop halfway and furrow his brow. "Uh, where we goin' again, bro? I don't remember where the next trial was."

The Arbok stared, then rolled his eyes and smirked, reaching out and clapping his messy, gooey hand onto his friend's shoulder. "Just get your pants on and I'll tell you on the way, alright?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Originally written February 2019)
> 
> This chapter is unabashedly lewd, but that's mostly because I feel like I started to veer a little too much towards the adventure part of things from chapter 6 to 8. It makes sense in hindsight, given how much was set up and executed in those three chapters, but even so, writing this felt like a breath of fresh air after so much micromanagement of story details and such. Since then I've sort of resolved to strike a better balance between adventure and lewd, which shows itself more clearly in the next couple of chapters. I feel it was a good place to start doing so anyway, given this is a bit of a bridge between the first arc and the second.


End file.
